What are the chances?
by bobonbon
Summary: A modern life AU fic where Zoro and Sanji meet under a total coincidental way and are forced to spend a week together. Romance develops between the two but can it really happen when Zoro already has Kuina?
1. Chapter 1

**AN**: This is my first story; I just suddenly had an urge to write something. Some song lyrics are going to be here, most of you will probably recognize them. If this chapter goes well, I'll write more. Please leave a comment about anything that I can improve upon, thank you readers, now enjoy.

Sanji was already having a bad day and an asshole just made it a thousand times worse. It all started with waking up with a phone call…

"_Beauty queen of only 18, she had_ _some trouble with herself. He was always there to help her; she always belonged to someone else…_."

Sanji slightly stirred in his sleep as he heard Nami's ringtone. He was about to fall back to slumber but remembered that he was supposed to take her out on a date today.

"_I don't mind spending every day. Out on your corner in the pouring rain…"_

Sanji picked up his phone with his lethargic fingers and pressed accept as he tried to snap out of the drowsiness that was overtaking him again.

"Sanji-kun?" Nami questioned, it seemed like she was trying not to yell through the noise behind her. "Sanji-kun, I'm sorry but I think we should cancel our date."

Sanji was definitely awake now. "Why Nami-san?"He asked because the blonde looked forward to this exceedingly.

They started to call each other with san and kun after they took a trip to Japan and found it extremely fascinating.

When him and Nami used it, it showed visible respect they held for each other, and to top it off, it confused the hell out of other around them. Also, it was like a private joke they had, another method Sanji used to get closer to the red haired woman.

"Who are you on the phone with?" Sanji heard a strange low baritone voice on the phone followed by a giggle which had to be Nami's

"This is just one of my close friends, Sanji." Nami was still giggling when she introduced Sanji to the mysterious man.

Sanji's heart felt like it was being squeezed by someone else. To him, Nami-san was not just a friend. She was his first love and a best friend.

"Sorry Sanji-kun that was my new boyfriend. Sebastian. I know this was supposed to be a friendly meeting but it'll still offend Sebastian if I go, you know? Since it's still called a 'date'" Her voice held slight sympathy and guilt which pained the blonde's already crushed heart.

Even though he felt like someone just dumped a bucket of shit on him then said happy birthday. He said, "Of course I understand Nami-san. It's alright. I had other plans today as well." He replied as his lies flowed through his tongue more naturally than he expected. "Baratie needed an extra waiter today anyways." The last part was the truth at least.

He was indefinitely used to this and he knew Nami well enough to know that she was an incompetent girlfriend and hated commitment. Because she was never able to give herself up to one guy and couldn't even possibly imagine marriage. Many mistook her as a slut or promiscuous because she would go through guys faster than she shed her clothes.

"Oh, that's great because I was thinking of bringing Sebastian there. I told him it was one of the greatest restaurants in the world. I'll be seeing you there tonight." She told him and in the background, he faintly heard Sebastian whispering something to her. "Sebastian, you're so sweet." Sanji heard a kissing sound and he cringed inside. "Sanji, Sebastian is a famous food critic and he said if he likes Baratie, he'll recommend it on his blog. Isn't that great?"

Sanji didn't give a fuck if Sebastian recommended his old man's restaurant on his blog or whatever. He just wanted to get off the phone and go back to sleep where he can live in a world where Nami wanted him for a change. "That's great Nami-san, I have to get going now, sorry. I'll see you tonight." He said and hung up before Nami could answer.

The blonde tried to go back to sleep but that phone call completely awoke him so he decided to get up and actually head toward Baratie.

He dragged himself toward the bathroom and turned the faucet on and made sure that the water was icy and started washing his face until it begun to numb.

Then he continued his normal routine until his eyes caught the clothes he picked out yesterday for this date, which took him almost two hours because he could not decide.

At the end he picked out a blue collared shirt with black dress pants that would give him a hint of a sophisticated look yet not so much as to make him seem uptight. He picked it up and hung it back in his closet and pulled out his waiter uniform to put on.

Sanji looked into the mirror and saw a man with blonde hair with bangs that covered his left eye with a little peach fuzz on his chin. His bright blue eyes stared back at him and his pathetic self disgusted Sanji. The blonde quickly turned away from the mirror, facing his back against himself.

He grabbed his jacket and gloves then walked out of his apartment, even though it was still September, the air outside was already chilly.

He reached into his pocket and realized that he forgot his cigarettes. He craved for some nicotine but was too lazy to go back up to his apartment so he decided to pick some up from a store on his way to Baratie.

As he walked down the sidewalk, the cold wind blowing at his face, he took his phone out of his pocket and called Zeff who was like a father to him and also happened to be the owner of the restaurant that he was working in.

After about four rings, Zeff picked up. "What is it eggplant? You need some advice for your little date?" He asked and Sanji could imagine a sly grin on Zeff's face.

"Actually, I don't have that date anymore shitty old man. So I'm going to the restaurant right now," Sanji tiredly said with a flat tone.

The humor was long gone from the head chef's voice but sarcasm remained. "Fine fine, we needed waiters today anyways. Just don't burst out in tears in middle of your shift."

"Fuck you." Sanji spat but didn't mean any harm over his words. After all, this was how they got along, by cursing and arguing against another. Actually, that's how the blonde best got along with anyone who's male. With females, he'd rather flirt and bless them with compliments.

Zeff chuckled a bit over the phone, "I think you should just get another girl other than Nami. It's already been about 11 years, time to get a new crush."

"Mind your own business old man, I don't tell you to get a wife or anything." Sanji replied with slight annoyance. He started crossing the street. but he didn't realize that the light was still red since he was too busy arguing over the phone.

Zeff sighed then said, "Ignoring advice from your father, eh eggplant?" The tone was weary and actually sounded old, very peculiar indeed.

And not only the tone but Sanji was shocked at the fact that Zeff considered himself his father. Both of them knew that they had the father/son bond but neither of them actually said it.

Sanji tried to sound casual about it. But before he could respond, he heard a screech created by a car heading toward him. A black convertible, driving towards him at the speed of light.

_SHIT_ Sanji thought out loud when he thought this was it. This was the end of his life.

However before he could hesitate any further, his reflexes kicked in, right before the car crashed where he once stood.

The blonde dove out to his right but landed on his hands. _Fuck Fuck FUCK_ He thought as the pain shot upwards, streaking its through his arms. A chef's hands are their treasures and he just might've fractured them.

He stayed on the ground checking to see if his hands might have been broken. They were both turning sickly green and was about to swell up. _This can't be a good sign._

He heard a car door slam. People were starting to crowd around him and the street light was green now.

Sanji tried to stand but when he put pressure on his hands, the pain became too much.

He felt a tug at his shoulders; someone was helping him get up. _At least my legs are fine. I can kick the ass of the one who did this to me _Sanji thought as the stranger helped him get back on his feet.

The stranger was quite broad, muscular, and pretty tall. But the strangest thing that Sanji noticed when he looked at him was his hair.

It was green like the grass fields or like that little green plant that was shaped like a ball he saw in Japan with Nami. _What were they called again?_ He kept thinking as he continued observing this man.

He had three earrings on his left ear that made him look like a thug but to oppose looking like a thug, this man was wearing a suit. _What a contradiction,_ Sanji thought to himself. He might've laughed if this situation wasn't so dreadful.

"Are you alright?" Said the man with the green hair, his voice was rich and deep. There was also a little accent behind it but Sanji couldn't pinpoint what language it was. However, he was definitely sure that he had heard it in the past.

When the blonde looked into this man's eyes, he saw hazel brown that contained great concern.

Then realization took over, Sanji realized that this man might've been the one who almost ran over him. He quickly jerked away from the man and tried to put as much anger and irritation into his next words. "Asshole, did you do this to me?" Sanji asked.

This was perfect. He could take out all of his frustrations from what happened earlier with Nami to this man. The man's flinched from Sanji's words and he felt slightly guilty from overreacting but not enough to stop him. "Fucker, answer me" He demanded.

"Yeah," The man simply replied calmly which irritated the hell out of Sanji. The blonde felt the need to see anger from someone else other than himself.

"Well fucker, if I find out that my hands are broken, I'm going to beat the shit out of you so bad that you'll wish you weren't born." Sanji growled out with a snarl, stepping closer to the other man and appearing deadly as possible.

And unexpectedly, the green haired man frustratingly retorted. "It was a fucking accident and I wasn't the one stupid enough to walk when the street light was still red."

Sanji felt alarmed by this sudden comeback but managed to reply with another fierce reply. "What did you say asshole?"

The crowd around them started to disperse when the street light turned back to red. The cars behind them started to beep impatiently.

The green haired man out of nowhere seemed desperate."Look, I'll pay for the medical bills. I'll give you my number. I can't deal with this right now. I have somewhere else to go."

"Oh, just going to leave the person you almost ran over to take care of himself," Sanji said sarcastically, he felt horrible to stringing this even further but he couldn't help with the comments.

"It's not like that," The green haired man groaned as his brows came closer together, looking incredibly aggravated.

Sanji no longer wanted an argument. It didn't make him feel better. It was actually making him feel much worse. He also felt bad that he was ruining this man's day.

Sanji sighed then said, "Its okay, I have to go now." With no additional comment, he speedily ran off as he avoided getting hit by foreign cars.

He heard the man behind him shout after him. But since more cars were beeping as the volume rose, it overwhelmed the man's voice completely.

The blonde continued walking as he tried moving his finger. It hurt like a bitch with every small movement but at least he could feel them. _That's a good sign,_ _right_? He hopelessly questioned himself.

Sanji turned back around and saw the man entering his car. Slightly disappointed, Sanji continued to walk toward Baratie. This day was turning out horrendous and to add the cherry on top, he'll see Nami will her new boyfriend tonight.

He entered through the backdoor of Baratie which led him straight into the kitchen.

"Oi Sanji!"

Sanji groaned because he recognized that obnoxious voice. He turned toward the voice to see Patty stumbling toward him.

"I thought you weren't coming today because of a date?" The large buff man asked, obnoxiously loud. That stupid face of his was already grinning slyly.

"Shut up shithead, you're hurting my eardrums. It got cancelled alright?" Sanji seriously regretted bragging about his date to everyone.

"I bet you got dumped idiot," Patty said as the grin on his face grew larger.

Sanji wanted to beat the shit out of him but didn't feel the mood at the moment. He simply walked past Patty and headed towards where the dining room.

"Hah, I bet he's just pissed cus he couldn't get a girl for once," Patty noisily yelled with a snort followed by laughter and the cooks who heard laughed alongside, hysterically making fun of the blonde cook.

"Shitty cooks," Sanji murmured under his breath. He took orders and went to grab plates containing meals but the pain in his hand shot up again. "Ah," he painfully sounded as the plates slipped out of his grip. Sanji felt immediate irritation at himself for wasting food.

"Oi, don't waste food!" Another cook named Carne told Sanji. "I made that."

"What food? More like garbage," Patty yet again nosily commented, causing the whole kitchen to laugh alongside.

"What did you say? Like your food are edible!" Carne shot back angrily.

They kept on bickering and the blonde merely ignored the two since this was the usual occurrence. He bent down on his knees to pick up the broken pieces. His hands were stinging from the clutches but since Sanji was used to pain, it hardly bothered him. Or so he told himself. _Stop being a wimp _he told himself. The blonde needed to get over this quickly since it hindered him from potentially working fully.

"Why is it so loud in here?" A voice rang out which cut silence through the kitchen. Carne and Patty immediately shut their mouths. "What the hell are you doing down there shitty eggplant?" Zeff asked, creating a wooden clucking sound on the tiled kitchen .

"What do you think I'm doing old man? I'm cleaning up after myself." Sanji replied to the owner coolly.

"I thought you got yourself into an accident." Zeff said in a voice which made it seem like a question.

Sanji didn't want the old man to worry so he answered with composure. "Well I didn't."

"Then why did you hang up right after a car screech?" The head chef asked with his eyebrows raised, clearly seeing through the blonde's lies.

_Ah shit_, when he jumped sideways, he accidentally released his phone. _Who knows where it is by now?_ It probably became crushed under the weights of the cars that passed by regularly on the street.

Today was definitely not his day.

Sanji realized that he must've been making some strange expressions since Zeff instantly let the topic go. "Whatever shitty eggplant, just get back to work and try not to break anymore shit. It's going to come off of your paycheck." Zeff told him as he walked away.

Sanji was exceedingly grateful towards Zeff who didn't press for further information since the blonde was not in the mood to talk about it.

As he started his waiter duties again, his hands constantly twitched because of his strong cravings for nicotine. However, because of the incident with that green haired man, he completely forgot to buy any. And with this, the frustration and the crankiness deepened.

The blonde continued on to overwork himself but used his hands when it was truly necessary because working aided him in forgetting. Even if it only lasted for a little while, he still adored that soothing sensation it brought.

Time passed by quickly and soon the darkness overshadowed the light. Customers were starting to increase and his hands were starting to swell up and burn like crazy. Beads of sweat were forming over his brows and he hid his hands by pulling down his sleeves.

_Few more hours_, he thought to himself. And he decided that he would go see a doctor after work.

Each minute passed by agonizingly. His desire for nicotine was very immense and he started to snap at anyone who tried to talk to him or even get near him. It was as if he was a woman on her period.

_I'm going to fucking kick the shit out of that moss head if I see him again_,Sanji thought to himself as his anger was going out of control.

Every time the door opened and new customers came in, Sanji was happy yet sad when it wasn't Nami. _I could handle this, I saw Nami with tons of other guys before. _

He tried to make himself feel better but a dark gloomy thought poked its way through and said _but she sounded so happy over the phone, she never sounded like that with any other guys._ His optimism and pessimism fought each other for awhile.

_Ah, I'm going crazy. I need some cigarettes._

Sanji was about to leave the restaurant to get some cigarettes when his eyes caught a beauty sitting at a table by her own. He literally spun about five times before he reaching her table and when he did, the blonde took her delicate hand into his own.

"Oh my beautiful delicate flower, I am but a poor incompetent painter, for the stroke of my brush is incapable of replicating your radiance, thus my canvas shall never be enough to capture your beauty madam." Sanji slurred with a little French accent, he knew women liked men from European countries.

He attempted a peck on her hand. "Stop," demanded the woman who appeared awfully frail. At first, he didn't believe that she was rejecting him since lots of women spoke the opposite of what they actually felt.

But when he looked into her eyes, he saw anger and disgust in her eyes and he quickly acquired the hint. Normally women fell for his flirtations but for some reason, certain women didn't like it for who knows what reason.

Sanji stood up and apologized repeatedly; it would be plain rude to annoy a woman. The beautiful woman's eyes began to have some sympathy and Sanji saw an apology forming on her tender lips but stopped when a voice interrupted the two.

"Hey waiter, don't be flirting with my girlfriend."

The voice was somewhat familiar but Sanji knew who it was before he turned around. It was the mosshead who almost ran over him staring back at the blonde in surprise.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN**:Whew, first chapter went out smoothly. I'm still a little bit scared that this might turn out bad. Readers don't be afraid to correct me. Angst, angst, angst.

Oh and by the way, this time, it's from Zoro's point of view but on the same day as the first chapter. I felt it was indispensable to go over both characterizations. Okay everyone, hopefully this chapter is to your liking. ^^

Zoro cleared his state of mind as the sun started to rise. The plum and crimson colors cracked through his closed eyelids as he concentrated on the sound of his breathings.

_Hah.. Hoo..__He breathed in and out evenly, allowing the oxygen to freely travel down to his abdomen region using the air tunnel within his neck._

Even if the concentration was fierce, he couldn't help but to recall a specific day where one of desires came around to meet his needs. And by that, he couldn't help but think of his girlfriend Kuina.

Zoro almost, just about to, giggle at the thought of calling Kuina his girlfriend. This was extremely startling for him to even think about. _Him giggling? _The image of himself giggling like some teenage girl scared him to no ends.

Then he cursed at himself for being entirely distracted and sidetracked. Even if he was a master in meditation, Zoro couldn't ignore the loud signals his stomach was hinting towards him. He decided to call the quits for now and make something for him to eat.

_What should I eat?_ He silently asked to no one in particular.

He searched around his kitchen, rampaging through the refrigerator and the wooden cabinets but all he found were ramen noodles.

Zoro sighed heavily because he was sick of eating noodles all the fucking time. But all he had were ramen noodles and more ramen noodles. In the past, to not be so sick of noodles so much, he often ordered takeouts, but that became impossible lately since he began to lack in the cash department.

He quickly placed the pot over the fire and dipped the noodles in. He was getting really sick of ramen but it was better than starving. Zoro required energy after all; he couldn't afford to damage himself in any way.

The water soon boiled, he put the powder that contained the flavor and not even a moment too late, the noodles he famished after were done.

He eagerly grabbed a bowl to pour his breakfast then readily headed to his favorite spot. Zoro glanced outside the large glass balcony door to see an absolutely magnificent view, truly spectacular.

The sun was already halfway up but the purple rimmed edges remained until now and the bright shades between red and yellow stayed in amidst of those violet colors. But it wasn't as if the colors remained in one certain spot. Instead, as if a painter decided to play around, the whole sky was painted and streaked with these colors.

But even with such an enchanting view in front of his eyes, his thoughts swiftly returned towards his childhood friend whom he shared the most intense moments with.

"_Kuina?"_

"_Yeah?"_

"_Let's battle."_

"_Alright"_

_They each picked up __bamboo__ swords. Well, Kuina picked up one while Zoro picked up t__hree__. They stared each other down until Kuina made the first move. __With a sudden movement, t__heir swords clashed against one another__.__B__ut of course Kuina couldn't hold out for long since Zoro's strength was completely dominating hers as always._

_She quickly stepped back and swung her sword toward__s__ Zoro's waist, but__ with the twist of her wrist,__ he __predicted her plans__ and dodged it easily__. However, he soon __understood__ that she in fact feigned th__e__ attack__ to actually __trip him__. Zoro realized __a moment too __late and that became the price he had to pay._

_S__oon he was__ pathetically lying__ on the ground with __Kuina's bamboo__ sword right __next__ his head. Even though it was a quick battle, they were both panting lightly._

_Zoro admitted his defeat and stood up as Kuina pulled back her sword._

"_What is this, your 10,892nd__win?" Zoro asked__ with a grin, even if he had just lost, it couldn't help to keep good sportsmanship. _

_But unexpectedly, __Kuina glared at him,__ showing clear displeasure in whatever just happened.__ "Zoro, stop it, I know that you let me win."__She averted her gaze away from the green haired man and pouted slightly._

_Zoro __felt so__ bewildered__ with this comment that he couldn't help but let out an idiotic__ "what?"_

_The cropped hair woman crossed her arms over her_ _chest_ "_I told you to stop treating me like a girl. Treat me like one of your guy opponents."__Her voice held humiliation and aggravation at that instant._

_The green haired man attempted in reassuring the cropped haired woman by telling her the honest truth from the depth of his mind_. "_Kuina, I have__ done that__ and__ I__ would never treat you like a __weak person__ or I would be dead by your hands within 3 seconds."__ He told her with a chuckle._

_Her large brown eyes shook for a split second as she looked up in the direction of Zoro's face. "Yeah?" She questioned as if she didn't believe Zoro's words not even a bit._

_Zoro made an effort to restore her confidence yet again. _"_You're the biggest competition next to Mihawk. I would never go easy on you."_

_For a moment, satisfaction flashed crossed her face but it disappeared within a matter of seconds. And her voice remained cheerless, "You realize it right Zoro?" She asked out of the blue, confusing the hell out of the green haired man._

_When Zoro remained silent, s__he slowly leaned back against a tree, and continued "Remember when we were kids? We made that promise that one of us would be the greatest swordsman."_

"_Of course I do__, how could I forget?__" He responded with__ complete__ determination, he would never forget that promise__ because i__t was his life goal__, his dream._

"_Remember what I said before we made that promise?"__She vaguely asked the swordsman with a hopeful expression. _

_That face was so encouraging that __Zoro tried__ his best__ to remember. Why did they make that promise again? He looked at Kuina expectantly but Kuina __was not giving away a single hint._

_He thought hard back to the moment when they were children, making promises carelessly…_

_Then the memory hit him, he remembered__._

_Zoro recalled when__ Kuina __told__ him __her secret wish of__ wanting to be a __boy. She was opposed __to her father who refused to see her perspective and feeling. Her father, Koshiro, warned her that one day, a man's body would surpass a woman's. It was bound to happen no matter what. She began to praise the Zoro's younger self for being born as a certain gender which created rage into his adolescent mind._

_His younger self did not like the fact that his objective hid behind an excuse because even if Zoro someday did overpower Kuina, he wouldn't feel as satisfied. Also, it was as if Kuina was giving him a false reason he would one day be the most powerful. As if it wasn't his hardworking nature but his gender that allowed him to be the best._

_He remembered rambling some parts of his mind to her, making her realize how feeble it sounded. Since Kuina was her goal, he couldn't possibly bear seeing her feeble. _

_Then they made that promise saying no matter what, someday, either one of them would be the best with no excuses such as having a certain gender._

Zoro sharply inhaled as he quietly whispered, "_Yeah, I remember."_

"_Zoro, I know it's going to be you who's going to be the best." She spoke softly, barely audible._

"_Kui-"_

"_Stop it Zoro, I know what you're going to say and you know it's not true. Did you see me lately? I'm disgraceful! The kids we grew up with, they are starting to surpass me. Of course not all of them since I'm still training with all my might but I will never __be __the best at this pace Zoro. You're able to beat me with ease now. When we were little, I used to win all the time. Then when you hit puberty, we were able to fight equally. You kept getting stronger and stronger, no matter how much I trained, you would be stronger. No matter how much I tried and stayed up at night to train more, it still wasn't enough." At this point, her voice was filled with anger but her eyes contained grief. "My father was right. A woman will never be able to beat a man. My breasts are slowing me down, I'm even thinking of getting a sex change Zoro."_

_That was like a slap in the face, "Kuina, I'm going to be honest with you. You will never be stronger than me." He felt harsh but that was the truth. He heard a whimper from Kuina but continued because he had more things to say. "But you're still the biggest competition I have, your speed, methods, techniques, and reflexes are the most amazing things I have ever seen. I'm still trying so hard to beat them, beat __you. Y__et you're already giving up like this. By hearing you say this. Do you know how stupid I feel right now? I train with all my might so I could improve even a little to beat you. When I hear you say that, I feel like I'm doing this for no reason." His voice slightly cracked at the last sentence he spat out._

_An uncomfortable silence played out, Zoro started counting in his head. When he reached 18, he heard the sound of a chuckle. He looked at Kuina who was surprisingly smiling._

"_Zoro, you said almost the exact same thing when we were kids. You never grow up do you?"_

_He was taken aback and didn't know what to say but the shock deepened when she put her arms around him and kissed him deeply. _

_Zoro's mind blanked out for that moment and when she pulled away, he didn't want it to end, he wrapped his arms around Kuina and kissed her again, longing for more and more. Her lips tasted salt, he realized that she must've been crying before. By licking and tasting the saltiness on her lips, he felt like that he was taking her worries away. _

_After few more kisses, he finally let her go. She was still chuckling a bit and he knew that he was blushing. But that embarrassment soon turned into laughter and Zoro thought that if he could fly, he would be in space at that moment…_

He quickly snapped back to reality, he realized that he had finished his noodles unknowingly and the sun was completely up by now.

Zoro took a quick shower and checked his closet and realized that he was in deep shit. All his clothes were either t-shirts, pants, tanks, and combats. Not a single article of clothing was classy in any way.

He needed help and the only person Zoro relied on at such times was his freckled faced friend. "What's up man?" Ace asked after picking up the green haired man's call.

Zoro's voice filled with desperation. "I need your help."

"Huh? Why? Didn't you say that you had that date planned out or something?" The raven haired man's tone held drowsiness as well as irritation.

"That's the thing. I completely forgot that I had shitty clothes."

Ace grumbled, "Man, you will owe me for this, I'll be there with a suit in 30 minutes."

"Shoes too"

"When you have a wedding, you better mention my name."

"Whatever man"

"I mean it," Ace said with a grunt, he must've gotten up from his bed. Zoro heard a gruffly voice in the background asking Ace where he was going. "Go back to sleep Marco, I'm just going over to Zoro's." It seemed like Marco was trying to say something back to Ace but it wasn't comprehensible, soon he heard snoring replacing those unheard words.

"That was Marco? Why is he? Ok, I know I should mind my own business but I thought you were straight?"

"Hah, best joke I heard all day. I never said I was straight Zoro, I just said I wouldn't fuck guys."

"Isn't that the same thing?"

"Nah, I'm the one getting fucked in this relationship."

"Ok, way too much information. I don't even know why I asked."

"I don't even know why I told you either but if you happened to turn gay anytime soon, you can come to me for advice."

"Hell no to both."

"Haha, I'm just fucking with you, you already have a girlfriend. Lucky fucker, she's a beauty."

"I thought you were gay."

"I never said that either."

"Ugh, never mind; just get here as fast as possible."

"Will try," Ace replied, Zoro imagined a little grin on that mischievous face.

Zoro threw his phone on top of the bed. He stretched and let out a big yawn. He looked around his house to see what he should do while waiting for Ace. He walked around his house and his eyes caught the heavy weights. The green haired man worked out heavily until he heard noisy knocks on his wooden door.

"Hey," Ace greeted. He was carrying quite a large bag, far too big for what Zoro requested of him to bring.

Zoro scooted aside so Ace could come in, "I said bring a suit and a pair of shoes not your whole house."

"Hey chill man. I just wanted your day to go perfectly." Ace replied with a smile that would melt most of the girl's hearts.

"This better not take long." Zoro groaned thinking this might have been a bad decision.

Ace handled his face, some parts were painful that Zoro tend to not complain about and some parts were actually quite relaxing. The green haired man closed his eyes to settle down into his comforting seat.

But his eyes jerked open when he heard a familiar reverberation. "Whoa, are you sure you can handle sharp objects?" Zoro asked with little sarcasm intended towards Ace who was currently holding a scissor next to his ear.

"Well, let me see if I can, on you." Ace quickly snipped some parts of Zoro's hair. Zoro immediately stayed still. He didn't want any misfortunate accidents happening anytime soon that involved Ace and his scissors.

"Man, I never understood why your hair is green."

"I told you that it's genetics."

"That's so fucking weird."

Zoro didn't comment on Ace's response because he was used to it. He knew his hair was an unusual color. Few more things happened to his face and body but by the time Ace was done, Zoro actually did look nicer. He observed his face carefully on the mirror.

"Well?" Ace asked with obvious pride that glimmered in his eyes. "I made you look like a man who's around 20s and actually handsome from what you used to look like."

"Thanks, I think." Zoro grumbled out, he didn't want to give Ace credit but he did do a fine job.

"Now go and get dressed. I never saw you in a suit before so this might turn out bad." Ace quickly handed him the suit and urged him to put it on.

"Wait, here, in front of you?" Zoro asked, sounding more rude than intended.

"What? You want me to get out or something? We're both dudes get over it." Ace replied, slightly sounding aggravated.

"Well, you just told me that you were bi sexual."

"That doesn't mean that I'll get turned on by you."

Zoro just shrugged, Ace saw him naked other times in the past, and this couldn't be any more different than other times. He hastily discarded his clothes and leisurely slid into the suit. The cool fabric felt pleasant against his skin and the silky feel off of it wasn't so bad. Ace was trying to look anywhere but Zoro's way. He guessed that the little comment he made earlier bothered Ace.

Zoro eventually stopped at a dead end when he saw the tie and he stared helplessly towards his freckled faced friend. "You look like a little puppy asking for food," Ace said as he cracked up at his own joke.

The green haired man felt a rumble vibrating inside his throat. "Shut up, fine I'll do it myself."

"Aww, is the little baby upset?" The raven haired man cooed.

"Ace I swear I'll cut you someday." Zoro threatened.

"Hah! If you can beat my firefist punches!"

The green haired man rolled his eyes dramatically at his friend's response. "That name is so lame."

"Dude, you say santoryu every time you do a move that involves 3 swords." Ace retorted with an offended expression.

"Well, I'm just saying three-sword style in Japanese." Zoro used his matter-of-fact tone.

"Whatever, come here, I'll fix that tie for you." Ace did some loops and some pulling then Zoro was set.

He looked at himself in the mirror. His green hair actually went quite nicely with the suit. The three earrings he had on his left ear normally made him look deadly but when the suit was with it, he looked classy and refined."Woah, check it out, you actually can pull off a suit." Ace exclaimed, obnoxiously being sarcastic.

"Shut it Porgas before my fist meets your face." He threatened but still pleased with how he turned out. "I have to pick up Kuina soon. So just clean up before you leave." Zoro told Ace, he fully trusted Ace enough to leave him inside of Zoro's house.

"Yeah yeah, enough with your nagging and go have fun already." Ace gave Zoro another smile and Zoro smirked back.

. . .

Zoro was awfully peeved because he accidentally turned left when the GPS said right. Now he had no idea where he was. With each mistake, the GPS spoke louder as if the machine was dealing with a deaf person.

The irritation grew and he tried his best to not swing his fists into the machine, silencing the demands. And among his fury, a flash of blonde hair swayed in front of his car, causing him hit the breaks rapidly. The blonde locks awfully resembled a person's hair and panic started to creep into Zoro's pounding heart.

_Did I just.. Hit someone? _Zoro questioned uncertainly.

His heart started thumping loudly in his ears. He considered just driving away but that option was thrown out when a large crowd began to gather.

Zoro stopped his car then stepped out. The street light was green and the walking light was red. _Then why did this idiot walk?_ He thought with a sigh of relief, if this man decided to charge him, he could use that as one of his excuses.

He walked towards where the crowd was and in the amidst of horde of people, there was a blonde man lying on the ground. Zoro scanned the scene to make sure the man wasn't bleeding or anything. And was relived to find that there weren't any bloody injuries.

However, it seemed as if the man was in awful pain. The blonde tried to stand but couldn't. Zoro knew that he had to take responsibility for his mistakes, so he stepped forward. He pushed himself through the crowd, people were murmuring and whispering among themselves but none of them tried to help out the blonde.

Zoro placed the blonde's arm around his own shoulders and helped him up. "Are you alright?" Zoro asked the man gently but almost staggered when the blonde suddenly pushed Zoro.

"Asshole, did you do this to me?" The blonde man asked and Zoro couldn't but notic his eye which were navy blue. It reminded him of the sea, mysterious and endless. Perfect blue eye that made Zoro dumbfounded for a second. "Fucker, answer me."

Zoro blinked and realized that this man asked a question. He was a bit shocked by the harsh curses but didn't take a step back or anything. He simply responded as calmly as he could. "Yeah"

"Well fucker, if I find out that my hands are broken, I'm going to beat the shit out of you so bad that you'll wish you weren't born," this man was being rude as hell and Zoro doesn't take shit like that.

Zoro glared towards the man and yelled. "It was a fucking accident and I wasn't the one stupid enough to walk when the street light was still red."

"What did you say asshole?" Zoro was about to continue arguing when he remembered that he was supposed to go pick up Kuina. "Look, I'll pay for the medical bills. I'll give you my number. I can't deal with this right now. I have somewhere else to go." Zoro reached into his pocket to see if he had some paper and a pen to write with.

"Oh, just going to leave the person you almost ran over to take care of himself." This man was pissing Zoro off but he wasn't about to lose his temper again. The blonde was obviously having a bad day and Zoro wasn't going to take the bait.

"It's not like that." He told the blonde. He expected the blonde to punch him in the face or kick him in the balls but he did neither, instead, the blonde suddenly looked tired and worn-out. It was as if he completely gave up this situation.

"It's okay, I have to go now." He had the most pitiful voice and Zoro immediately felt puzzled and felt a slight sympathy for him. The blonde man just walked past him and soon started to disappear out of Zoro's sight.

"Wait, come back!" Zoro shouted out after him but the cars that were waiting impatiently, some driving around him, but all of them beeped loudly. Zoro just cursed under his breath and got into his car, his GPS was still loudly demanding orders for the green haired man to follow.

Zoro drove to Kuina's place quietly; actually listening to the annoying GPS for once. His mind unwillingly kept flashing back to the moment when he lost himself in those pure blue eyes. _We'll probably never see each other again_ he thought to himself.

And as rapid as that thought came, it was gone instantly. He was soon distracted by tonight's events. The conversation with Ace roamed inside his mind.

The raven haired man told him that usually, after a date, couples would make love. Zoro never really cared for sex nor did he craved it so he never had sex in the past but at the moment, he slightly wished he did take those obvious chances in the past.

His memories flew even further to his past, during high school, Zoro never even watched porn willingly. Ace had made Zoro watch some, trying to introduce him to the wonderful regions of sex but all it did was gross him out. _  
_

When the green haired man reached Kuina's place, he saw a dojo that he practically grew up in. Everything about this place had a sense of Japanese culture in it.

He walked toward the front of the dojo where he knew Kuina's father sat. "Hello sensei," Zoro said in fluent Japanese and a bow, full of respect and honor. This man was the one who taught him swordsmanship and cared for Zoro when he was a child.

Koshirou looked up to see Zoro, he smiled kindly and spoke in Japanese back to Zoro, "Good afternoon Zoro. I'm guessing you're here to pick up my daughter. I always knew that you guys had some type of a connection."

Zoro grunted, "Sensei, you're embarrassing us again."

Koshirou laughed light heartedly, "I'm just happy to see Kuina smile."

Zoro took another bow and walked away to find Kuina, he knew that she would be training next to her favorite tree, sakura or cherry blossoms. It normally bloomed during May time so he didn't see any pink pedals around but the sight was still captivating to watch Kuina train.

She didn't take any notice of him, her concentration was that sharp. She swung her sword around, perfecting her techniques and finding different stances to train with. Her short black hair swiftly lifted as the wind picked up. Every movement she made, it looked like she was dancing with her sword, graceful and elegant, unlike Zoro who was more like a mountain of muscles winning by force.

He sat there for what felt like few minutes but realized an hour had passed by when Kuina finally realized that he was there. Kuina stared at him and chuckled a bit, "Zoro, what happened to you? And why didn't you tell me you were waiting for me to finish."

"I didn't want to interrupt your training." He told her tenderly.

"Let's duel."

Zoro almost laughed. "In my suit?" He sarcastically asked at the unexpected request.

"Why not? You're just taking me out to eat right? We have few more hours to spare before dinnertime, let's just train a bit." Kuina said bluntly, her arms were crossed and she held a pout on her childlike face.

Zoro did see her point and decided to go along with it. "Let me change out of my clothes first." He told her after a nod.

He quickly went inside of the dojo and put on his black sweats with his combat boots. He had some extra clothes in the dojo because this place was like a second home to him. He then put his white polo shirt on with a haramaki, stomach band, around his stomach. Then he put a bandana to finish it off. Now by wearing these, he looked more like himself, demonic and deadly.

Zoro grabbed two bamboo swords and met Kuina outside. If anyone saw them, they would've thought that they were filming a movie because it was that dramatic. Kuina's eyes were full of ambition and determination and Zoro.. Well, he was just a bit sad that Kuina didn't take this date as seriously.

This time, Zoro started off the fight, he wanted this to be quick and fast. He aimed for Kuina's right with both swords but like always she was quick and nifty like a cat. She brought down her sword toward Zoro's head but because he was so used to that move, he dodged it easily. She then tried to stab Zoro's chest but he stopped that move with his swords by creating an x.

She stepped back like she always did when there was a direct confrontation, she already accepted the fact that she could not beat him by strength. He swung his left sword to the right while he swung his right to the left, trying to trap her in the middle but she jumped high up and landed on his two swords, still graceful.

She pointed her wooden sword to his neck, hitting his adam's apple. He swallowed once, and then she pulled away with slight satisfaction in her eyes. "Zoro, you're still slow as always." She commented, with that pride still in her face.

His face turned red and the competitive of his stirred, no one could fire him up as much as Kuina.

They fought and trained against one another until they were both exhausted from the battles. The light in the sky was starting to fade away. He couldn't see Kuina's face as clearly as before.

They both leaned against Kuina's favorite tree "Kuina, today was supposed to be a date." He whispered.

"Zoro, a date is when two people spend a day together and that's exactly what we did."

"We didn't exactly spend it together, we actually fought each other." He said with a smirk, he loved it when he tripped Kuina up.

"Ah, but my little student, we still spent time together and we both like fighting. So everything's good." Kuina said giving a little smirk of her own back to Zoro.

"Bastard," Zoro growled out, soon they were battling each other few more times before it was completely dark.

"I should go and wear the suit again." Even though he was a bit sweaty, the cool air helped Zoro to be not sticky.

"I'll go put on one of my fancy dresses then." Kuina yelled out as she ran oppositely. These words surprised the green haired man since he was not used to his childhood friend wearing a dress. She had always been the tomboy type and she rarely wore girly articles of clothing.

He hurriedly changed into the suit once again and went out to meet Kuina who was already done and ready by the time Zoro stepped out.

Kuina was leaning against one of the dojo walls, her tall body was quite slender but the curves were a bit missing. However to make up for the lack of curves, the tight black dress brought out her features. She looked very lean and fragile but Zoro knew that she was the very opposite of that.

Her short black hair especially looked shiny with the dress and her legs looked especially long with the high heels she was wearing. Zoro gaped at Kuina and couldn't stop staring. "Hey, it's pretty rude to stare like that." She said, giving him one of her adorable expressions.

"You look grape." Zoro stuttered out. He almost gave himself a face palm for being such an idiot.

"Grape? Zoro, you're so silly." She said with a laugh.

He led her to his convertible and tried not to make anymore stupid comments. He didn't turn on his GPS this time because Kuina was great with directions. He just told her the address and she knew exactly how to get there.

"So Zoro, is this place any good? Did you ever go there before?" She asked.

"Uh, I heard from Luffy and Ace that it was really good, one of the best restaurants they ever went to."

"Hm" After that, they sat in a comfortable silence, no need for words. That's how their relationship worked, understanding what the other is thinking without having them say it. This was a true bliss for Zoro.

When they reached the place, Zoro couldn't help but to think the place as average. The restaurant was turquoise and had three levels. The word "Baratie" was written on the second level and the place looked like it was meant to be at the sea, which was silly because restaurants are supposed to be above ground. _  
_

When the green haired stepped inside with his companion, he was surprised by the fact that the aura was completely different from its outer appearance.

The interior of this restaurant was very classy and Zoro immediately felt intimidated since he wasn't used to fancy places such as this one. Everyone here looked upper class. But he right away stopped worrying when Kuina wrapped her arms around his.

Kuina looked awfully composed as she flipped through the menu calmly. She definitely would be able to fit into the world of wealthier and urbane people if she wanted to.

Zoro suddenly had an urge to splash his face to calm himself. "I have to go to the bathroom for a second."

"Alright, be back soon." She replied.

After a cool splash of water on his face, he headed back to the table to find Kuina being hit on by a blonde waiter. He could tell that she was definitely not enjoying this and had a look that screamed, "Help me."

But this was a bit amusing so he decided to watch for a moment. Zoro watched Kuina's expression change from disgust to confusion and then to a slightly guilty look.

After few minutes, Zoro decided to stop the amusing scene. "Hey waiter, don't be flirting with my girlfriend." Zoro walked toward the two, he had some humor into his voice because he didn't want to start anything in this fancy restaurant.

After taking two steps forward, the green haired man stilled because he was lost yet again in those piercing blue eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

"You're!" Zoro started to spurt out as he pointed towards the blonde man. However, after giving Zoro a surprised stare, he silently walked away, appearing graceful even when hurriedly fleeing from the scene.

"What's wrong? You know him?" Kuina asked him curiously, her brows knitting together in confusion.

The shock remained but he tried his best to control his own expression. "No, I don't know him, I just met him once earlier, guess we're pretending to not know each other." Zoro told her as he mechanically sat across from her.

She remained silent about this matter which he was secretly grateful of.

* * *

Sanji was befuddled, _why was the mosshead here?_ The blonde did wish to meet him again so that he could beat the shit out of him but this was way too soon. Sanji sighed with annoyance as another thought rode his mind. _How the hell did he, the mosshead, get a girl like her?_ He guessed that the moss was pretty handsome in his own green way but that girl was pretty much out of his standards.

The blonde couldn't have another concern intruding his brain. He had enough of his own problems already.

He decided to head out there with some wine to apologize to the beautiful lady for his recent outrageous behavior, flirting with her obnoxiously then trying to break through her personal space by attempting a peck on her hands. How rude of him.

But, he secretly had another reason for going out there and giving her some free wine. He was hoping that he could maybe steal her away from the mosshead and earn himself a beauty and revenge upon the man for breaking his hands. It was an accident but it still happened, it was a double take if the plan worked.

Even though he was in love with Nami, it didn't mean he couldn't have other beauties in his life. It wasn't like him and Nami were going out or anything. If they were, he would've given her his full attention but for now…

* * *

Zoro quickly forgot about the blonde when Kuina pushed her hair back behind her ear with her long delicate fingers. She looked through the pages of the menu and looked up with a grin. "Hey Zoro, they have some alcohol, let's just fill ourselves with fancy wine after dinner."

"Kuina, it would take at least four bottles of wine each for us to get drunk." He said with a matter-of-fact voice because what he just told her was the truth. They both owned an insanely high tolerance towards alcohol.

"I don't want to get drunk. I just want to try it." She told him with a slight whining tone, her chin was cupped into her two hands.

He chuckled at the request, "anything for you my lady." He responded in a sarcastic tone yet gentleman styled to match his suit.

"You sounded like that waiter." She said with slight loathing in her voice and her eyes rolled. Kuina obviously disliked the waiter, it wasn't so strange for her to be annoyed towards that hot tempered blondie or anyone in general. After all, it was hard to get on her good side.

But Zoro wondered what really went on between them. "What happened?" He questioned.

But instead of answering, her gaze left his face and her mouth remained shut. She glanced toward her left side and with curiosity he followed her eyes and saw the blonde waiter making his way toward their table with a bottle of wine in his hands. "Mademoiselle, I apologize for my actions earlier."

The blonde apologized and Kuina appeared cautious at first then relaxed visibly. She must have figured that this waiter meant no harm and he was truly sorry. She tenderly smiled and responded, "No, I'm sorry, I was a bit uptight. I didn't have to say such rude things to you."

Zoro stared at both of them with his mouth slightly open. _This man apologized?_ But this man was a bastard to him. He couldn't figure out why this blonde was suddenly so nice out of the blue.

"Please don't apologize my lady, you were just being humble to this." He said while pointing at Zoro who was about to snap back but was rudely cut off, "So, I brought you some wine. Hope you enjoy it." He set down two glasses, one in front of Kuina and Zoro. The green haired man was stunned that the blonde would actually give Zoro some wine as well.

He poured the wine into Kuina's glass first, and then turned toward Zoro's glass to pour. Zoro looked at this man's hand, covered by the sleeves, tightly wrapped around the large wine bottle, holding it delicately like it was a precious jewel.

The waiter was pouring ever so slowly into Zoro's glass when suddenly the wine fell out of his hands and landed on the floor with a clash. The wine split into several pieces and the liquid that was contained inside the bottle flowed out like a blood river.

The restaurant hushed, the customers stopped eating to glance at them. The conversations stopped dead and the other waiters rushed over with mops to clean up the mess.

But the scenes blurred out when Zoro noticed the blonde's hands which were uncovered after the drop of the wine.

The hands were badly swollen and it was an unnatural color, some parts were purple and other parts were starting to turn green. _How did this man act normal with this hand? _

And without a second thought, he reached out to grab one of the blonde's wrists.

* * *

_Fuck,_ Sanji thought as the glass slipped away from his hand. His grip on the bottle lost strength when the pain shot up again. The bottle which wouldn't have broken in normal occasions shattered into pieces today. All the frustration kept piling up, everything that has happened today made it seem like the world was against him.

Everyone stared towards his direction when spill stretched across the floor. The restaurant was eerily quiet except for the sounds created by some waiters rushing over to clean up this mess. Even if this was all caused by the blonde, he remained still and watched the stream of wine flow across the restaurant floor.

Blood was rushing into his head. His brain automatically silenced everything that was happening. This happened during fights too. Everything became hushed when when facing an opponent.

Then the torrent of sounds crashed back when his wrist was grabbed, he look up to see the worried face of a green haired man.

"Oi, why didn't you go to the hospital? Look at the state of your hands. That's it, I'm responsible for this and I'm taking you to the hospital." With the green haired man's voice, the silence that was hanging over the restaurant fell quickly. The customers went back to their own conversations and the waiters who mopped up the floor walked away after a glare toward Sanji.

He just ignored their glares. And the cooks who came out to see what happened, just grinned idiotically, obviously laughing at Sanji's misfortune, then went back inside the kitchen.

Sanji realized that he was very weary, his hands were still aching and he just wished to go home and forget about everything. He wanted a smoke to get away from reality even for a second. He just wanted to be alone, back to his comfort zone. "No." He replied and snatched his wrist back from the green haired man.

The other man's eyebrows knit with bewilderment. "What? But your hands"

"Shut up, moss, it's none of your business." The blonde spat, he really didn't need to be nurtured, especially by someone who caused this injury.

"What the fuck ero waiter, I'm just trying to help you." He growled with irritation.

"I'm not a waiter, I'm a cook."

"Whatever, ero cook, I'm dragging you anyways." _Who does he think he is? _That ball of moss suddenly got him so fired up, he suddenly remembered the name of that ball plant he saw in Japan, it was called a marimo. Sanji suddenly had an urge to laugh. He tried to control his emotions and to keep a stoic expression but a smile cracked through and soon he was laughing.

"What's so funny ero cook?" The green-haired man said looking confused and a bit frustrated.

"You, you look like a marimo" He said with another burst of laughter following the sentence.

* * *

_Marimo? Isn't that an alga that grows mostly in Japan? How the hell does this guy know about it?_ Zoro frowned at the blonde. But the laughter coming from this cook was quite melodious. He didn't mind it, not one bit.

"Zoro, I'm going to leave if you're taking him to the hospital." Kuina's voice spoke, breaking through his thoughts.

The green haired man glanced at his girlfriend in surprise, for a second, he actually forgot she was there. "Sorry Kuina, it's my responsibility and I don't want to feel guilty about it later." He replied, hoping Kuina would understand.

"Alright, we'll come and eat here some other time. I'll call my father to pick me up." She replied with a smile, clearly understanding the situation which made Zoro fall in love with her all over again.

* * *

Seeing Marimo with a goofy grin made him want to barf. But he got some new information from this conversation. That the green haired man's name was Zoro, _not that important,_ and that this beauty's name was Kuina. His heart fluttered. _Ah but of course she possessed such a charming name. _But that flutter stopped when he heard a voice."Ah, Sanji-kun, what happened?"

Sanji knew that if he turned around right now, he would find himself in a desperate situation once more but Sanji was not the type to back down from situations.

He met the eyes of a red haired woman wearing a tight red dress making her assets more noticeable, her arms wrapped around a man who was wearing a red striped collared shirt with grey dress pants. The man was slightly taller than Sanji but that didn't imitate him at all. When he slightly looked up, he noticed that this man's face was clearly handsome matching the beauty of the woman next to him.

"Hello Nami-san, I just dropped some wine that's all." He didn't do his usual greetings toward her which was technically flirting with her and of course, he completely ignored Sebastian who wasn't even bothering to introduce himself.

She looked at him strangely. It must've been because he wasn't doing his usual flirting. But she quickly shrugged it off visibly, she must've thought, he must not be doing this because he wants my relationship with Sebastian to work out. Sanji chuckled inside miserably, he knew so much about her enough to almost read her mind yet he couldn't have her.

"You're not hurt are you?" She asked with concern in her eyes as her head lightly tilted.

"No, thanks for worrying" He put on one of his fake smiles to reassure her.

"Yes you are."

Sanji blinked in surprise, he turned towards where the voice came from and realized that the man named Zoro spoke. Nami looked at the man with curious eyes, wondering what he meant with that comment.

"Wha-" Sanji sputtered out, as he started to defend his previous comment.

But Zoro interrupted the blonde's sentence, "Shut your chatter cook, I'm taking you to the hospital."

The red haired woman's eyes grew wide from Zoro's words. "Hospital? Oh my god Sanji, what happened?" Nami asked in surprise, freeing herself from Sebastian's arm.

"It's nothing Nami-san, I swear," Sanji glared at the green haired man. He gave him a look with a thought saying _I'm going to fucking kill you if you don't shut up_. But of course, this man was oblivious and stupid to add to it. He just kept on going. "It's not nothing, there's a possibility that you broke your hands."

_This idiot,_ Sanji didn't want to worry Nami anymore so he decided to just go with the flow. "Alright fine, I'll go to the hospital but you don't have to come with me."

"No, I'm coming. You could be saying that just to get rid of me." The green haired man complained with clear displeasure.

That was kind of what Sanji was doing but part of it was the truth. He was planning to go to the hospital before anyways but he wanted to go secretly, he didn't want sympathy or worry others but this idiot was ruining his plans. "Fine," He let out a sigh, he hated stubborn people, and this guy was pretty much the champion of that.

The green haired man grinned like he won a trophy. It irritated Sanji so much that he imagined himself kicking this bastard's face then leaving a shoe print.

"I'm com-" Nami started to say but halted when Sebastian started to whisper something in her ear. In his mind, the victim changed from this green haired man to Sebastian. Sanji started to grind his teeth.

"Oi cook, you're making a weird noise." Sanji completely ignored him and continued to stare at the scene.

"I'm sorry Sanji-kun, it would be like ditching Sebastian if I came with you, but your friend can take care of you." She said sweetly, he knew that she was using that tone on him purposely because when she used that voice, he couldn't help but forgive her. And just like other times, this time was no exception, he automatically forgave her but that didn't mean he forgave Sebastian too.

"Oh, I'll be fine, I have my moss buddy." Sanji said getting almost sick for pretending to be friends with this green haired man.

Sanji was worried that this mosshead wouldn't catch up to what was going on but he let out his breath that he didn't know he was holding when the mosshead said, "Uh yeah, I'll take care of it," with a really confused face.

Sanji quickly went inside the kitchen to grab his jacket and gloves and said his farewells to the chefs even though most of them merely ignored him. Sanji went outside the restaurant. The night air was even chillier than before and Sanji's face stung from the cold wind hitting his face.

"Took you long enough," A black convertible pulled up in front of him with the green haired man looking at the blonde through a crack of the window. "Get in."

"Shut up moss." The blonde spoke as he went around to enter the passenger seat. "Don't boss me around marimo."The argument continued when Sanji entered the car, the blonde's expression was grumpy from the earlier incident and he was feeling overwhelmingly drowsy.

"First of all my name isn't moss or marimo or any shit like that."

"Shut up, you call me ero cook or whatever." He retorted as the green haired man started up the engine.

"Fine, your name is Sanji right? I heard from that red haired bitch. Why do you guys call each other with san and kun anyways, are you like part Japanese or something?" Zoro asked in an indifferent tone as he turned his car onto the streets.

"Bastard, Nami-san is not a bitch and no I am not Japanese, I just took a trip there. I am also not calling you by your name because you're a bastard and you deserve shitty names." Sanji once more was taking his irritation out towards the green haired man. Something about Zoro triggered the blonde to argue and fight.

"Whatever love cook." Zoro responded, his voice hinting no emotion.

This left a silence to hang over them and Sanji was not good with silences and before he could stop it, he blurted out, "so, I was wondering, how the hell did you get Kuina?"Sanji wanted to slam his head against the glass window because he just made the situation more awkward.

The green haired man's tone changed from indifferent to puzzlement. "Kuina? Why do you want to know that?"

Sanji deeply regretted asking, "Just curious," he answered.

"Well, mind your own business." Zoro roughly responded.

This bastard didn't have to be so harsh about it, but Sanji tried to brush it off with a sarcastic comment. "Shut up, I just wanted to know why she chose you over oh I don't know, someone like me?"

"Che, a little self centered aren't we?" The green haired man sarcastically told him with a click of the tongue.

Sanji needed to get off the topic quickly so in response, he snapped his fingers and said, "bitch I'm not self centered, if I'm self centered, then you're a marimo. Oh wait, you already are one."

"Cook, I will beat the shit out of you." Zoro threatened the blonde but with a light chuckle in the beginning.

Sanji rolled his eyes, "Funny, I was thinking about the exact same thing about you earlier."

"Beating the shit out of me? Impossible."

"Look who's self centered now, let's see bastard. When my hand gets better, you'll be begging at the ground for me to stop beating the shit out of you." The blonde smirked as he imagined this, Zoro underneath him, begging for mercy somehow pleased him.

"In your dreams shit cook."

The air that surrounded them was much more comfortable to breathe in now. Sanji relaxed and sighed out which reminded him of smoking then his nicotine cravings came back. "Oi, can you stop by a store, I need some cigarettes."

"Those things kill you."

"Worried about me?" Sanji retaliated. It was fun making this man agitated.

"Like hell."

"Then take me." Sanji looked out his window and noticed trees, usually large amount of trees and they don't have that in New York City. "Are you going the right way? It looks like we're out of the city range." He hoped that this grasshead knew what he was doing.

"I know what I'm doing ero cook, don't pester me."Zoro replied.

"Whatever." The other man just grunted in response and he drove in silence but this time it didn't feel as uncomfortable. Sanji just leaned back to relax but soon, without knowing, he entered a deep slumber.

* * *

Zoro was in trouble. He was extremely lost but he didn't want to give the blonde the satisfaction of making fun of him for having bad directions.

When the blonde started snoring quietly next to him, Zoro took this chance to turn on his GPS, hoping that it could save the day. The GPS turned on and it commanded very loudly, Zoro's heart sped up and hoped the blonde was a heavy sleeper.

Zoro tried to follow the directions he were given. His rebellious side wanted to turn the other way but he knew if he made a wrong turn, the GPS would command louder and he wanted this process to be as quiet as possible.

And after about a half an hour, he was finally back in the city, Zoro was glad to actually see the polluted area instead of nature for once. He sighed out in relief when he reached the hospital with no other problem.

Zoro shook the blonde next to him but the blonde didn't even stir. Zoro shook harder and instead of waking up, the blonde's head fell down onto his shoulders.

The green haired man sighed again but this time in frustration. The blonde continued to snore away as Zoro racked his brains out, he was figuring out what to do about this situation. He could just wait until this man woke up or he could punch him in the face to see if he'll wake up then.

After few minutes, Zoro made a decision. He got out of his car and walked around to the other side of the car, toward the door next to the passenger seat. He grabbed the blonde haired man and placed him on his back. The man on his back was very light and Zoro would've mistaken him as a weak person except when he felt the blonde's legs, they were hard as steel and he could also feel the blonde's hard muscles against his back.

The blonde's sent out a delicious scent. The smell of the kitchen, full of spices and a mixture of variety of meals. Zoro's stomach growled, the scent reminded him of food and he realized that he hadn't eaten anything other than the noodles that he had this morning.

The blonde hair tickled Zoro's neck but he tried his best to ignore it. He stepped inside of the hospital. The nurse at the counter looked up, her face not a bit surprised. She knew him well since he came here often; to either meet his friend or because he needed stitches or medical care from a fight.

"Hello Mr. Roronoa, are you here to meet Dr. Chopper?" She asked as she completely ignored the man on Zoro's back.

Zoro grumbled, "Yeah"

"Very well, please go ahead." She pointed at the hallway that he was used to seeing.

He walked down the hallway, took some turns, even if he was bad with directions, his body remembered which ways to go. Soon he stopped in front of the door he saw very often and knocked. "Come in," the voice was high pitched and sounded a bit tired.

Zoro went inside and Chopper's face lit up, "Zoro!" But his face fell into seriousness when he saw the blonde man on Zoro's back. "Oh my god Zoro, did you kill him?" Chopper's face showed absolute terror, not of Zoro but for the consequences he would receive if anyone were ever to find out.

He chuckled slightly at the doctor's reaction, "It's for you to find out." He said in a devious voice, tickling this boy's seriousness.

Chopper paced around the room in fear, he told Zoro to place the blonde man down and the doctor quickly checked the man's body. "Whew, he's still alive." The little man said. Zoro chuckled out louder and told Chopper the actual story.

To Zoro, Chopper was very adorable. Even though he was a famous doctor, he was only 17 and could pass for a little kid, but he was still envied throughout the world and Zoro couldn't believe he had a genius as one of his best friends.

"I guess I'm glad that he's not one of your victims." He didn't show any anger towards Zoro for tricking him.

"So, are his hands broken?" Zoro asked carefully, he deeply wished that the blonde didn't break anything.

Chopper took off his square glasses and carefully massaged the bridge of his nose. "Well since you said he could move his hands around, that already tells us that it's not broken. It's probably twisted. It should get better in a week."

"But he told me that he's a chef, if he can't use his hands, he won't be able to do his job."

"Damn right I won't." The blonde man groaned making Chopper almost jumped out of his skin.

Zoro glanced at Sanji who still appeared aggravated. "Oh, you're finally awake." The green haired man was still slightly goaded from the fact that the blonde couldn't wake up earlier.

"After your loud chatters, it's not much of a surprise."Zoro wanted to strangle him, he wanted to respond in the rudest way but before he could speak the cook continued to rant. "Oi oi, how did I even get here? And I said stop by a store, I needed cigarettes. I knew your idiotic brain couldn't process what I asked for. And who the hell is this kid? This place looks like an infirmary, is this kid a doctor? Isn't he a little too young to be a doctor? Wait, I get it, he's a genius or something, am I right?"

"Asshole, calling me a genius won't make me happy," Chopper said while smiling and squirming, he was the type who spoke the opposite of what he was feeling.

Zoro felt anger stirring inside his stomach yet again. "For one, you shit cook, I carried you here because you wouldn't wake up no matter how many times I tried. All the stores were closed because it's goddamn late so quit your stupid bitching."

"Wait what? You carried me here?" The blonde asked with astonishment in his eyes.

Zoro stopped in his track to stare at Sanji's widened blue eyes which still managed to trip him up."Uh yeah, don't thank me or anyth-"

"How fucking embarrassing, did any nurses see me?" Of course the fucking blonde was ungrateful. Zoro didn't know what else he expected from this bastard. He just stayed silent, better to say nothing than to waste time on an ungrateful cunt. "Oi, thanks though, I did have a nice nap." The blonde thanked suddenly causing Zoro to look up. Sanji's cheek had a scarlet streak running across.

And a smirk surface followed by a comment from Zoro's mouth. "Thanking me cook? Didn't expect that"

"First and the last time moss." The blonde recoiled, trying to hide the embarrassment that appeared on his face by turning his head away from Zoro.

Chopper just stared and smiled at the scene, "You guys are already good friends."

"We're not friends," Both of them shouted at the same time then glared at each other. Chopper just stared at both of them with interest, opening his already large brown eyes wider, making him look younger.

Zoro breathed in and out evenly like he was doing a meditation, trying to calm himself. He didn't want to have any pointless arguments anymore even though that was all he had been doing with the cook. "Cook, Chopper said that your hands are not broken."

The cook's face lifted into a smile of relief, he almost looked like a child himself and from the expression, Zoro's heart started to beat rapidly in his chest, _what the fuck was wrong with me?_ Zoro looked away from the blonde and his heart immediately slowed down to its normal pace.

The blonde's voice peaked inside his brain. "Something wrong marimo?"

"No, nothing" Zoro still didn't look him in the eye and he was exceptionally glad when Chopper broke into their conversation.

"Just because you didn't break your hands shouldn't mean that you should use it soon, if you don't rest your hands for at least a week, you may never be able to use your hands again." Chopper had the seriousness in his voice. It was a way to get his patients to follow his orders, a way of threatening them to do what he demands or they would face the grim consequences.

Sanji's smile fell into a frown. "But, I'm a chef. I have to do my job and that's not all, how am I supposed to do anything without my hands this whole week?"

"Don't you have family members or friends to take care of you and your house chores for a week?" Chopper asked warily, Zoro figured that Chopper didn't want the blonde to get offended if he was wrong.

The blonde's face didn't change. Instead, he was very calm, unnaturally calm. "No, I don't." He simply responded, taking not a single offence from this question.

Zoro felt a bit of sympathy toward him, he knew how it felt to live alone. You couldn't depend on anyone; it was just you and yourself. He scratched his head and groaned because he couldn't believe he was saying this. "I'll take care of you for the week."

The blonde looked up with surprise in his blue eyes but quickly went back to a scowl, "Oi, I never asked you to, I don't need taking caring, I can handle a week without hands."

"Bullshit cook, just think of it as a revenge for almost running you over." Why was Zoro giving him excuses for him to be the blonde's maid?

The blonde's face scrunched up, Zoro could tell that he was in a deep thought, turmoil within himself. Zoro didn't see what the big deal was. _God this cook is such a sass, _he thought to himself.

"Fine" The blonde finally decided, then his lips curled up to an evil grin, "Can I boss you around moss?"

"No way cook," Zoro groaned for trapping himself in this situation but the blonde looked happy again and seeing him happy once more made Zoro feel satisfied and proud, _but why? _The question was there for a second then it disappeared and he didn't even think twice of it.

**AN: **Thanks for the great reviews everyone. I freaking love you all.

And yes, I gave Chopper glasses, I mean in one piece he doesn't have glasses because he's a reindeer. And animals have better vision, right? So as a human, he should have glasses. And I think he would look absolutely adorable with those glasses. ^^


	4. Chapter 4

Sanji soon established that this mosshead was dreadful with directions.

Each time the blonde barked out an instruction, Zoro would perform the exact opposite. And to make the situation worse, he would rudely comment afterwards like "you weren't speaking clearly," or "my gut instincts told me it was this way." Like hell it was Sanji's fault that this bastard had no common sense.

It was somewhat amusing at first but as it continued, it became irksome. It was like the green haired man didn't even know what left or right was. Sanji became incredibly impatient and at last demanded, "Marimo, that's it, I'm driving."

For few seconds, the car remained silent as if the mosshead needed some time to decide on the next procedure. When he spoke, his voice sounded barely audible "No ero cook, this is my car."

The blonde exhaled noisily, this man was awfully stubborn. "It's already been an hour and we're getting nowhere." The longer the seconds stretched, the further they drove away from Sanji's apartment.

He heard a sigh from Zoro followed by a mumble which Sanji took as a yes. Soon the car pulled over and they switched seats.

When the blonde walked around the black convertible, he realized that this car was extremely _girly. _And from appearance, Zoro was far from girly. "Why do you own a convertible?" The blonde asked as he started the car engine. The automobile rumbled deliciously and the seat became nicely adjusted. Sanji became comfortable leaning back against the cushion right behind his head.

"Why?" The green haired man questioned and the blonde imagined his brows furrowing, creating wrinkles on his forehead.

Sanji became peeved; he disliked it when people asked questions to his own inquiry. "Because," The blonde stretched this word out then continued, "You look more like a truck driver." And Sanji couldn't help but chuckle after this small confession.

"What makes you say that?" The other man asked with a noisy yawn.

The blonde rolled his eyes dramatically but recalled that Zoro wouldn't be able to see any of Sanji's motions so he simply relied on his mocking voice. "Oh I don't know, you kind of look like a barbarian with your huge muscles and green hair. If you just grow a mustache, it would be perfect. But wait, I think you should dye your green hair back to your natural color so the mustache would match your head." A huge grin began to outstretch across Sanji's face.

The green haired man grumbled, "Cook, you just offended all the truck drivers and me, asshole. Also, green is my natural hair color." At the truth behind the hair, his voice faintly hushed as if he was about to regret those words pretty soon and he did have a pretty good reason for feeling such way because Sanji wasn't about to leave this alone.

The sarcastic grin deeply engraved into the blonde's cheeks. "What? Are you serious?" This man was much stranger than the blonde thought and Sanji deeply desired to view Zoro's face at this moment since the green haired man sounded flustered. "How does that even happen?" The blonde pressed on.

"It was like some type of a mutation and it was passed down, I know you're going to laugh cook but I'm proud of my green hair." Zoro bristled defensively and at the response, Sanji sniggered softly. "Hey, you shouldn't be in a position to laugh, you have weird eyebrows."

The blonde's smile instantly faded from Zoro's words as his annoyance flared yet again. "Bastard, my eyebrows aren't weird."He yelled but furtively he knew his eyebrows were bizarre. Many teased him for it in the past and it always managed to get him aggravated.

"They're like curly. Do you get it done like that on purpose? Because I don't think women are attracted to curly eyebrows." This time it was Sanji's turn to be made fun of and he could tell evidently that the moss bastard was enjoying every moment of it.

The blonde strongly craved to deliver a kick towards marimo's head but since they were in a car, he instead delivered a sour comment, "Fuck you mossy, its genetics and they do happen to attract the ladies." Sanji bragged. It technically wasn't the eyebrows that attracted women but his outgoing personality. However, Zoro didn't need to know that.

"Heh, curly cook san," Zoro teased out of the blue, probably as vengeance for the blonde's earlier tease. The green haired man possibly had the biggest smirk upon his visage.

A small rumble rose within Sanji's throat. "Bastard, don't call me that," He growled but had this strangest urge to crack up.

The green haired man snickered at the blonde's reply. "The day you stop calling me marimo."

Sanji then exhaled dramatically, "I guess that means it's never." He shook his head a bit for another dramatic display but again realizing Zoro couldn't see anything in this pitch black darkness surrounding them.

But even without the view of Sanji's theatrical play, the green haired man acquired the hint behind his clear sarcasm and mumbled. "Asshole" His tone held nothing but a playful gesture. And by Zoro's retort, Sanji laughed heartily since this bastard was so damn easy to talk to even if nearly all of their conversations were arguments.

Sanji was almost sad to go when he saw his apartment building_, almost_. "Oi, so I live on the 7th floor, 7G ok? Give me your number just in case you get lost on the way." He informed and demanded of the green haired man. Even if he lost his cell phone earlier, he still had his house phone to contact this marimo

"Isn't this a bit forward?" Zoro taunted with a smirk which was much more visible currently, given that the luminosity inside the Zoro's convertible was blindingly on. Sanji had to admit that the green haired man appeared much more cheerful than back at the hospital.

Even if the blonde was usually quick with retorts, this time he wasn't so lucky. Instead, he answered with a simple, "Shut up, and just give me."

The green haired man grunted, "I don't think you should treat me like a child, I'm capable of doing things by myself."His lips pushed forward into a pout, awfully appearing dissatisfied.

The blonde unnecessarily let out a snort causing Zoro to frown but despite this man's stubbornness, he surrendered to the blonde's demands. "What time are you coming?" Sanji asked after observing Zoro's numbers.

The green haired man's voice switched back to his indifferent tone when he answered. "I don't know, you decide."

Sanji's eyebrows twitched because for some peculiar reason, that indifferent tone slightly bothered the hell out of him."Oh ok, be at my place by 6:30." He suggested knowing that was a distasteful request. However, he doubted that Zoro was someone who could be trusted with keeping appointments since this man was outrageously directionally challenged.

Between Zoro's two eyebrows, his skin wrinkled and the voice he let out wavered. "What? But I usually have night shifts at my job"

"Too bad, I wake up at that time. I have two jobs you know." Sanji felt a considerable amount of sympathy and guilt since this was a lie. Well, he did own two jobs but he usually woke up later than the time he suggested to the green haired man.

By the blonde's solemn expression, Zoro groaned and clicked his tongue frustratingly, obviously irked by what he got himself into. "Fine cook, I already figured that my life was going to be hell this week."

"Good to know that you figured that out," Sanji made his voice as sweet and innocent as possible and slammed the car door, still feeling some regret over his previous decisions.

**Tuesday, 1st day**

Sanji awoke feeling dazed; he was roused by the noisy bangs and shouts. Those words awfully sounded close to "cook" and "curly brows."

The blonde was still between two worlds, one that was reality and other that was an illusion created from the depths of Sanji's desires and aspirations. The illusion contained all of Sanji's unobtainable wishes.

Actually Sanji had no idea if they were obtainable or not since he never tried taking a step towards it. The blonde never had a clue what was stopping him from these ambitions. Maybe it was cowardice, but that hesitance felt like a dam intercepting the water from ever flowing freely.

The blonde dragged himself unhurriedly towards the noise. _Who the hell had the guts to wake me up?_ And when he opened the door, he found himself face to face with the green haired man. Sanji groaned aloud because he completely forgot to set his alarm clock nor did he actually expect the green haired man to actually make it in time.

To make the situation even more humiliating, Zoro had this enormous leer on his features, evidently pleased to have passed Sanji's expectations. "Curly cook, you told me to be here by 6:30 and here I am, I thought you would be up by now." He sarcastically taunted.

Sanji didn't respond, instead, he turned away and headed in the direction of his bathroom.

The blonde saw his own reflection through the mirror and found everything to be absolutely horrendous. His hair was ruffled in unusual places and it was puffed up like an afro, which was definitely not a pleasant sight, his eyes had black shadows underneath his blue spherical pupils, and his lips were abnormally bloody red.

After fixing himself for half an hour, the blonde walked out of the bathroom and found Zoro lying on the couch snoring. _This bastard simply changed places to sleep_.

And since Sanji's sleep was disturbed, the thought of vengeance arose. With that reflection, the blonde brutally kicked the green haired man's abdomen. The cruelty that rose within Sanji was unusual, maybe it was the lack of cigarettes in the morning or maybe it was just the presence of this green haired man, whatever it was, the one affected by it was the Zoro.

* * *

Zoro awoke instantaneously when the wind was beaten out of him. His eyelids lifted and for a second, his sight was blurred. _Shit, what a strong blow_ he thought with a wince.

As his vision gradually begun to return, shedding away the distorted view, the first thing that caught his eyes were those golden blonde hair. Second was an angry cook hovering above him, sending daggers with those blue spheres. "Oi.. _cough_.. What the fuck curly brow," His sentence came out as short gasps and after every word he spoke, jolts of pain followed after it.

"Who the hell said you could sleep, make me breakfast bastard."

_Why the fuck is this cook so moody? _"Cook, I don't know what the fuck your problem is but I'm not your slave, I'm a volunteer." Zoro slowly stood up, clutching his stomach, until he was at the blonde's eyelevel. His own teeth bore towards the blonde to show that he wasn't jesting.

Sanji broke the eye contact as he walked over to his drawer, his fingers pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

Leisurely, the blonde placed the cigarette stick between his crimson lips and lighted it up. The sight was quite mesmerizing, a sophisticated man smoking a cigarette made him look quite badass. Sanji took a deep sip of the cigarette and let the smoke seep out through the corners of his mouth. The cook all of a sudden unnervingly appeared calm, which the green haired man guessed was the work of the nicotine.

The cook spoke with a low composed voice, masking any evidence that he was enraged before. "Oi, pardon my irritations, I always become this way in the morning"

"You didn't have to take it out on me, you ass," The green haired man snarled, still infuriated by the blonde's earlier physical abuse.

The blonde released the cigarette stick from his teeth to tease Zoro. "Don't tell me that my kick hurt you? I thought you were tough?" His tone sounded as if he was talking to a baby instead of a full grown man.

"I am tough," Zoro scoffed then continued, "I would've beaten the shit out of you but I don't fight cripples." He smirked, the corner of his mouth curving upwards.

Sanji let out a snarl, "I am not a cripple," then sent out a rapid yet powerful kick towards the green haired man's head.

The blonde's leg missed the green head but Zoro heard a whistle as the leg passed by his ear. _Shit, how fast does he kick?_ It was all thanks to his reflexes that his head was still attached to his neck. "Huh, not bad," the blonde sneered.

Another kick was sent, but this time, the blonde aimed for Zoro's ribs. Unfortunately, his reflexes didn't save him the second time

When the leg came in contact with Zoro's ribs, he felt himself lifting from the carpet floor. "_Augh"_ He was sent flying but landed on his feet before he could be thrown against the wall. Zoro coughed out violently and cursed towards the cook in every way possible as he charged like a bull toward the blonde man. Even if he was a swordsman, he could still fight bare handed.

The cook sent double kicks toward Zoro, but the swordsman dodged both attacks. The green haired man concentrated with all his might to only focus on Sanji.

As Zoro's blood pumped in his ear, everything indistinctively blurred except for the cook. When the blonde spun in the air to gain additional momentum, the green haired man used this chance to apply judo on this man. He swiftly grabbed one of Sanji's legs to harshly throw him down.

When the blonde ruthlessly crashed against the carpet floor, his cigarette flew out of his mouth. And before Sanji could regain his strength, the swordsman quickly pinned his arms then sat on him.

The blonde groaned and squirmed underneath Zoro. "Get the hell off me," he hissed as he gasped for breath.

"Admit that you lost," Zoro demanded, feeling pretty satisfied for putting this prissy blonde in his place. But instead of replying, Sanji remained abruptly still and silent. _Stubborn asshole, _the green haired man thought.

After few minutes, Sanji squeaked underneath him, sounding barely audible as he admitted defeat. "I lost." Feeling content once more, Zoro lifted himself up with a grunt.

The blonde man was red in the face, perhaps from the strains of the battle or from the mortification of losing, whatever it was; Zoro wasn't going to ask about it since he knew the humiliations of being defeated.

Zoro looked around, away from the blonde and noticed that this apartment was quite nice. Even though the whole place was rather small, it had a nice vibrant feeling to it. The furniture all matched another and it was exceedingly organized. The whole place had a sense of refined taste to it, matching the blonde perfectly.

"Shit, damn you marimo, I just wasted a cigarette." Sanji complained as he used just his legs to stand.

The green haired man frowned, "Hey, you attacked me first!" He defensively yelled.

"Whatever marimo, make me breakfast, I'm hungry."The blonde demanded with a wave of his hand but winced slightly from the small movement. The green haired man had almost forgotten the whole reason he was here, which was because of Sanji's injured hands.

"Do you like ramen noodles?" Zoro asked since those were the only things he could make.

* * *

Sanji blinked in shock, _don't tell me this moron can't cook. _"No but I'm craving some Eggs Benedict at the moment." The blonde decided to test out this man.

The green haired man's eyebrows rose from Sanji's suggestion. "Eggs what?" He asked idiotically, his tone awfully resembling a girl with a valley girl accent.

The blonde sighed deeply at the thought of dealing with a heavily untrained marimo. Eggs Benedicts were an extremely simple dish as well as the most basic to all chefs and since Zoro had no clue as to what it was, it proved to Sanji how much of an amateur cook this man truly was. "I shouldn't have expected so much of you marimo." He told the other man with disappointment then suggested, "just scramble me some eggs."

"I'll try," The unsure voice by this bastard did not reassure Sanji. And he had perfectly valid reason to feel this way because the blonde soon found out that Zoro couldn't even crack an egg.

"You retard! Just crack it," Sanji demanded and the green haired man did indeed crack it but the egg exploded from the extremely powerful hit. "Mosshead restrains your freaking stupid brute strength." The blonde yelled, this man was wasting all the valuable ingredients.

Zoro's frown became deeper as he barked back towards Sanji, "I'm trying!"

"Well, try fucking harder!" The blonde unrelentingly demanded. But even with those clear instructions, the green haired man continued to break the eggs in impossible ways.

Just when Sanji gave up, Zoro yelled, "Cook! I did it," in the most excited tone. He sounded like a child who was able to use the toilet for the first time and at the thought, the blonde burst out laughing. "Oi, what's so funny stupid cook?" The green haired man asked with yolk remains spread across his face.

Sanji choked on another laugher, "nothing, you just have shit on your face." He told Zoro, pointing at the yolk spot.

"Here?" The green haired man asked as he pawed at his cheeks like a kitten. But instead of wiping the yolk off of his face, he ended up spreading it.

The blonde sniggered, "You idiot, let me help," he suggested as he reached out. His thumb grazed over Zoro's cheeks to wipe the yellow gooey content off. The green haired man's eyes widened in shock at the touch but remained motionless with no comment. "There." He told Zoro after his cheeks became clean once more.

Even when that was finished, the green haired man remained motionless. His jaw was slightly dropped and his eyes were still widened from shock. Sanji frowned, "Mossy?" The blonde asked with confusion.

Zoro shook his head from the voice and asked, "What?" His expression and tone became indifferent once more.

"Nothing," the blonde answered. The rest of the cooking procedure went along smoothly, even if few pieces of eggs were burnt, Zoro managed to not burn down the place.

The blonde stared at the green haired man with disgust, "You eat like a barbarian." He told Zoro when the cooking part of their morning was finished. The blonde had a completely sensible reason for telling this man such harsh words, partly because Zoro was barely using the perfectly capable utensils.

And even while chewing, Zoro spoke, clearly allowing Sanji to view the yellow contents inside his mouth. "Shut up cook, I'll pin you down again."

But Sanji ignored the behavior for now to rejoinder to that outrageous comment. "That was pure luck. When I get my hands back, I'll be able to fight with full force." The blonde told him confidently, somewhat wavering towards the arrogant side.

"That wasn't my best either. I don't fight with only bare hands." He grinned with his mouth full of eggs and Sanji twitched by those obnoxious manners.

The blonde raised one of his eyebrows. "Then… What?" He asked the green haired man. Sanji was thinking of guns but Zoro didn't seem like the type who would use guns instead of brute strength.

"I have no obligation to tell you cook." Zoro answered as he continued to chew on the scrambled eggs.

Sanji anger arose but endeavored in keeping composure, "we might as well get to know each other since we are spending a week together." The blonde suggested, trying to reason with this man.

"Aw, that's so sweet of you," The green haired man said sarcastically.

The blonde's pitch darkened as anger started to boil by this man's tease. "Marimo," he growled out, sounding deadly even in his own ears.

Zoro belched loudly then patted his stomach before answering. "Fine fine you stubborn cook, I use swords, to be specific, katanas." He informed the blonde man.

"Swords are so ancient," Sanji responded, but for some reason, katanas suit Zoro perfectly, the blonde could imagine the green haired man holding them up vividly.

Zoro yawned, stretching his mouth widely. "So? Swordsmanship is still respected throughout the world." He sniffed once, then continued to speak, "Oh and since I answered one your questions, you have to answer one of mine." The blonde raised one of his eyebrows from this unexpected condition but nodded to encourage Zoro to continue. "Where the hell did you learn to kick like that?" The green haired man asked with widened eyes. Sanji could tell that he was trying to say it in a composed tone but amazement cracked through.

The blonde felt a bit, well extremely, flattered from Zoro's interest. "I'll tell you, but feed me first, I can't pick up my fork, you peasant." Sanji grinned towards the green haired man.

Zoro grumpily abided to the blonde's wishes by handing him some scrambled eggs. But 'accidentally,' he aimed for Sanji's cheeks instead of his mouth. "Oops," he sounded but with no repentant behind his voice.

"I hate you marimo, you know that?" The blonde glared towards the green haired man as he wiped his own cheeks with the back of his hand. Then his eyes traveled to the small watch around his slim arm. "Shit! It's already 9:30," He cursed out as he hurriedly scrambled up to run around the house. Sanji picked things up with his foot and somehow managed to put his clothes on without using his hands.

* * *

Zoro leaned against the couch and closed his eyes but didn't fall asleep. He didn't want to get attacked for the second time by the curly brow. And after staying in that position for few minutes, Zoro soon felt the blonde's presence nearing him.

The green haired man immediately became attentive and opened his eyes. He straight away noticed that the blonde appeared pretty casual with his white sweater and green pants. But the necktie around his neck showed that he wasn't ready to fully let go of the classy look just yet.

Sanji combed his blonde hair with his slick hands and lit up another cigarette "Marimo, follow. My job is just few blocks away."

The place only took about ten minutes to get to and when they entered, the familiar smell of sweat and the sounds of martial arts were the first things Zoro noticed.

The place itself was all covered in white, some paints starting to peel, a large window on one side, giving the place light. Many doors followed by a windowless corridor leading into another large room were around. Each room had different age groups of children and adults as Zoro passed by. Each class performed different types of martial arts; Zoro perked with interest when he passed by the kendo room, hoping someone was here, good enough to verse him.

When they stopped in front of another room, children from about age 9 through 16 were performing a martial art style similar to what the blonde used on him earlier. They used their feet as their main weapon and fists only if it was necessary.

The sight was quite compelling since Zoro was not used to this type of martial art. He may have learned some judo, tae kwon do, boxing, and definitely kendo, but they all required hands, this didn't

"Mr. Blackleg, you're 30 minutes late," One of the children shouted out.

"Shut up kid, I'll just have to train you extra hard to make up for it," The blonde yelled back towards the child before entering the locker room.

"Um, who are you mister?" A little girl who was about half his size asked him with a high pitched voice.

"Why do you have green hair? It's not cool," The same child who shouted at the blonde now shouted at him.

Zoro simply smirked; this bothersome kid was about to have his ass kicked. "Hey kid, you wanna brawl?"

* * *

The blonde stepped out of the locker room and straight away, he heard children cheering and booing, _why the hell is this place so rowdy?_

And as expected, it was Zoro's fault. The green haired man was fighting against ten boys at the same time. "Oi, marimo, stop beating up my students, that's my job." The children laughed since they were all used to Sanji's offensiveness. "Of course, that doesn't require the lovely ladies." The blonde smiled courteously towards the young females.

And as usual, Zoro was an asshole with his words. "You sound like a pedophile."He told Sanji with a snicker. The children who understood the meaning of that word laughed alongside with the green haired man while the other children frowned in puzzlement.

The blonde growled in frustration."Maybe I should practice my skills on you." He did not want to be humiliated in front of _children._

"You already did that remember?" The children curiously stared from their dojo teacher to the strange green haired man, fairly interested by the situation.

And before either of the two could lash out to attack another, a familiar high pitched voice sang. "Un deux trio" The blonde groaned in annoyance because he recognized that voice and he was definitely was not pleased to hear it.

"Cook channnnnnn," the voice screeched.

Sanji speedily dodged as a hairy leg launched out for an attack towards his blonde head."I missed you yesterday," Few more headshots came and Sanji continued to dodge until an opening was shown.

The blonde spun and shot out a powerful kick, but not enough power to send him flying. "Stop joking around," A male cross dresser who wore a flamboyant ballet clothes with a swan theme and a pink overcoat unrelentingly spun around. On his face, he had very heavy makeup that still couldn't hide his repulsive features.

"Bon, I'm trying to teach a class." Sanji snarled angrily to grab this man's attention.

But the cross dresser was evidently not paying any heed to him, "Who is this handsome man?" Bon spun towards Zoro as he bounced up and back down, landing very lightly on his ballet shoes.

By Bon's approach, the green haired man appeared incredibly startled. "That's moss head. You should give him a free lesson."The blonde suggested to the cross dressing man, trying his best to not burst out laughing.

Zoro's eyes enlarged but managed to maintain his stoic expression, "No it's alright. I rather go to the kendo room." He told Bon as he bit by bit backed away, waving his hands in front of him.

The cross dressing man puckered his lips. "Don't be shy darling; I'll take you to the kendo room after you learn some of my techniques." The green haired man perked at the word kendo and hesitantly started following after Bon, appearing uncertain about this condition.

"Mr. Blackleg, what do we do now?" A voice spoke in the crowd of children who were starting to show impatience and eagerness.

The blonde thought about it for a moment and when an idea hit, a wicked smile emerged. "I actually liked marimo's idea, everyone line up, if you can land a hit on me, you automatically get a black belt."

. . .

All the children were wheezing and breathing heavily on the floor. Some were lying down to calm their irregular heartbeats. But Sanji on the other hand didn't even break a sweat."Shitty kids, it's already 12, get changed and go."

When all the children left, the blonde entered Bon's room cautiously since his previous experiences here weren't very pleasant. After all, he was almost turned into a woman, which was definitely _not_ an enjoyable time.

But he did fully desire to witness the green bastard getting a makeover. Or forced to do okama kenpo which was a fighting style combined with ballet that Bon used and taught, maybe wearing some tights as he learned.

The blonde eagerly stepped inside the room but found it empty, no green haired bastard or cross dresser anywhere.

The wide room was unusually strange devoid of anyone inside it. _Hmm, maybe they're in the kendo room, _Sanji thought but before leaving, he looked around once more to double check. The room was pink with swan posters everywhere; the blonde shuddered because this room brought back horrifying memories.

Sanji entered the kendo room inquisitively but realized that this room was empty as well. As much as he didn't want to run into Bon, he didn't want to run into the kendo teacher even further, partly because he had bad experiences with this guy.

The blonde vigilantly walked across the room and searched around. And out of nowhere, he heard a voice. "What are you doing here?" A voice asked sounding callous yet poised.

_Mosshead? _

Sanji didn't like the idea of eavesdropping since he wouldn't want his private conversations to be heard but this was exceedingly tempting. He couldn't help but lean closer to the entrance of the locker room and concentrate on their echoing voices.

"Relax I have a daytime job as well as the night time job." The blonde recognized that voice; it was the kendo teacher's voice.

Zoro's voice responded to the kendo teachers thoughtfully, "We'll just pretend to not know each other." He suggested.

"Well that's too late since you already acted like a fool in front of that cross dressing freak."

The blonde tried to respire lightly but his lungs weren't quite happy with the little oxygen it was receiving. So in result, he exhaled loudly, causing a sudden silence inside the locker room. Sanji deeply hoped that they would disregard the noise as nothing significant.

"Shit, we got a listener," a voice warned the other male. The blonde's heart leaped in panic, unknowing what would happen subsequently.

Even if Sanji wanted to flee from sight, it was too late and the footsteps were dreadfully coming closer with each second.

**AN: **Hello everyone, so this chapter, I revised it a bit (A lot) and I believe it became much better. I'm thinking of revising the next few chapters as well since I'm not very proud of them.

^^! That put aside, hopefully you enjoyed chapter 4. Feel free to review if I made any mistakes.


	5. Chapter 5

"Who's there?"

"No one," Zoro answered in a low composed voice that he always had. The blonde on the other hand couldn't even speak with Zoro's calloused hand covering his mouth, his chest pinned against the wall.

Sanji struggled underneath Zoro's grasp, but the green haired man's hold on him tightened with every resistance. The blonde was about to kick him in the ribs yet again but something in those brown hazel eyes stopped his urge. Those eyes held great concern like the first time he met this man.

The blonde immediately stopped struggling and relaxed his body, even if this man was a bastard in conversations, Sanji somehow knew that he was actually trying to help him.

Zoro's face was very close to his own, so close that Sanji saw small beads of sweat rolling down from his green hair towards his temple. The blonde was about to sweat himself because of the body heat between them. Their breathing space was narrowed and Sanji smelt the other man's metallic scent which was surprisingly not unpleasant.

The green haired man unexpectedly released Sanji but still held that stern look in his eyes that silenced anything the blonde was about to say. "I'll meet you outside, just be quiet and get out for now," He whispered indistinguishably but Sanji had understood.

The blonde wanted to resist and protest against those demands but something unknown stopped him. It was possibly those hazel eyes that held fear. Not for himself but for Sanji.

"What's taking you so long?" The kendo teacher asked from inside the locker room, sounding intolerably impatient.

"Nothing, I thought I saw something." Zoro responded and waved his hand, gesturing Sanji to flee.

The blonde ran out of the room, following the mosshead's instructions. Sanji was incredibly curious about the conversation he a moment ago heard.

He knew that Zoro was full of secrets but couldn't come up with any reasons as to why that green haired man hid Sanji. And why was he so afraid for the blonde? What are his relations with the kendo teacher? The blonde knew that those two had some things in common like being rude and anti-social but he also knew that two negatives usually don't mingle with another.

These questions continuously formed inside his head, questions that would probably remain unanswered.

When Sanji at last reached outside the dojo, he groaned from aggravation as he lit up another cigarette to calm his anxieties.

"Sorry," A voice behind him apologized.

The blonde turned to find the green haired man standing near the entrance, appearing terribly flustered. Sanji dropped his unfinished cigarette then stepped on the cherry of the joint to put out the fire, "Well?" He crossed his arms and looked at Zoro expectantly.

"What?" The green haired man asked. Either he was playing dumb or actually dumb. Zoro's eyebrows arose from the blonde's expectant expression.

Sanji cupped his forehead, burrowing his hands under his blonde bangs then sighed out edgily, "Stop being a dumbass, what the fuck was that?" His tone was incredibly foul from Zoro's stupidity.

The green haired man scowled at the blonde's snappy response. "If you want an answer, don't be rude about it." Zoro snapped, unintentionally stalling for time.

The blonde blinked few times from the green haired man's reaction. It made Sanji's jaw drop and his mouth dry. "I-"

"Curly brows just forget it, where are we going next?" Zoro asked, cutting the blonde off and changing the subject.

The blonde wanted to pursue the subject but didn't dare. It wasn't as if Sanji was afraid of Zoro, it was just that the green haired man appeared extremely uncomfortable talking about this subject and Sanji didn't like to push things out of others unless they were ready to tell. So he decided to drop it for now.

Sanji's stomach answered for him by growling loudly and when Zoro heard those unwanted grumbles, his lips curled into a smirk yet again. _Why didn't I eat more this morning?_ Sanji repentantly thought. "I'm guessing that we're eating now." The green haired man jibed the blonde.

"Shut up moss," Sanji responded as he felt his face heating up. "Fine, let's go," he said aloud to cover up the second growl embarrassingly made by his stomach.

Zoro looked at him eagerly as if waiting for his guide, "Cook, where do we go? I don't know this area." His eyes traveled around the neighborhood as his hands scratched the back of his neck, jingling the three golden earrings on his left ear.

The blonde placed his thumb underneath his chin and relaxed his lips onto his index finger. "Hm, I know a well known Italian restaurant around here, let's go there." He suggested excitedly. Sanji always wanted to try the food there but never got a hold of a friend to go along with him, this was the perfect chance.

Unpredictably, Zoro's lips stuck out and started to pout, "I guess." His shoulders were drooped and his eyes casted towards the ground.

"Why? You don't like Italian food?" Sanji asked with a tilt of his head. A chuckle rumbled inside his throat because the green haired man appeared so much like a child when he pouted.

Zoro looked at him with uncertainty, showing hesitation in what he was about to say, "Well… I would have to feed you and… yeah."

When Sanji realized what this green man was demonstrating with his words, an image of Zoro feeding Sanji like a baby in front of everyone else flashed across his mind. _It certainly would be awkward._ "Oh, I-Yeah, it would be, we should go somewhere else," Sanji idiotically stammered, _why am I getting nervous? It's just mosshead._

The blonde's stomach complained noisily once again. Sanji wanted to dig a hole, jump in, and stay put but of course that didn't happen.

But the green haired man paid no heed towards those sounds. "Cook, let's go to that place you work at, I still haven't tried the food there. You work there so it's alright, right?" He proposed with a bit of enthusiasm playing inside his gaze.

"But my shift isn't until 3 and the place is expensive." Sanji informed him. The actual reason he didn't want to go to Baratie was because he didn't want to get teased by those annoying cooks.

The wind picked up, smacking Sanji's face with its frigidness, Zoro however didn't even look slightly affected. His green hair rustled and the three earrings on his left ear tinkled like a chime.

The green haired man's lips were back to a pout, "Come on cook, hurry up and choose," he complained as he released another yawn.

"Fine mosshead, let's go to Baratie but you're paying," Sanji compromised, partly because he didn't want to stand around in this freezing weather any longer.

Zoro suddenly frowned; well his face always held a frown but it deepened. "Well, I only have little cash at the moment," he replied as he averted his gaze from the blonde's blue eyes.

"I was joking. We don't have to pay since my father owns that restaurant." The blonde surely felt like an ass for teasing the man like that. Teasing another for their financial issues was so unlike Sanji.

The green haired man perked up from the response then started leading the way. "Let's go then," he demanded with a stoic and a collected manner but the blonde could tell a hint of enthusiasm was hidden behind that mask.

By Zoro's apparent eager, the blonde sniggered and started following after the green haired man before realizing something. "Oi oi, you're going the wrong way marimo."

* * *

When Zoro entered Baratie for the second time, the delicious smell made his mouth water and the restaurant amazed him once again for its classiness.

But unlike yesterday, he didn't have his suit on, therefore he felt much underdressed. However, the cook just walked through the restaurant like he owned the place,_ w__ell__ he technically does._

Zoro felt faintly piqued at the blonde's good fortunes in life, even though Kuina once told him, "the grass isn't always greener on the other side," it certainly appeared that way with Sanji.

Then out of the blue, he remembered something, "Oi love cook, I thought you didn't have any family members?"

The blonde glimpsed his way for a second, "I do but none that can help me with house chores."

"What the hell does that supposed to mean," Zoro asked at the strange response spoken by this cook as they passed by the costumers who barely gave them a second glance.

"You'll see," The blonde told him mysteriously.

They climbed up the stairs which led both of them towards the kitchen. The mouth-watering smell was even stronger up here, but the pleasant smell also came with an unpleasant bickering. Zoro heard shouts and arguments through the kitchen door.

"Shitty fucking cook, your cooking is nauseating!"

"You're the one to talk. A costumer threw up from your food before."

"That was like five years ago, can't you let that go?"

It was like listening to bunch of Sanjis. It was aggravating with just one curly cook. He couldn't imagine having a whole bunch of them clustered in one room together.

The arguments came to a halt when they turned to see Sanji and Zoro entering the kitchen.

"Oi Sanji" A large buff man with meaty arms approached them with an idiotic grin, "I saw you yesterday, when you dropped that expensive wine then ditching in middle of your shift, the head chef was furious."

The blonde groaned but didn't respond. The green haired man noticed that all the cooks were sneering and snickering towards Sanji. Even if they all enjoyed jibing and annoying the hell out of another, he felt a strange family bond between these cooks. Even if it wasn't obvious, it was still there, some type of a bizarre bond between them.

"Shut up Patty, move aside before I kick you aside." Sanji threatened, appearing pretty serious.

Patty noticeably got the hint then scooted away grumbling, "Mere bastard."

Some cooks raised their eyebrows towards Zoro but none raised a question. They simply didn't care enough or didn't want to break their focus on whatever they were doing. "Oi Marimo, are you going to follow me or not?" The blonde asked, snapping Zoro out of his thoughts. The green haired became aware that Sanji was already on the other side of the kitchen.

The green haired man stumbled across the room while dodging foul mouthed cooks. "Curly-brow, when are we eating? I'm getting hungry." He complained to the blonde.

Sanji started walking ahead of Zoro."Wait shithead, I have to tell my old man what happened and how you're going to be working instead of me," he shouted over the noisy kitchen.

Few seconds passed before Zoro comprehended what the cook just said, "Wait what? I'm going to be working here? I have to wear your stupid waiter uniform?"

The blonde's curly brows furrowed and his eye twitched. Zoro noticed that the cook's face reacted such every time someone plucked his strings. "Yes Marimo, I'll make you wear a women's uniform if you're so dissatisfied." Sanji offered with a casual tone.

Zoro frowned in displeasure because he hated loosing arguments, but the cook had him this time.

He unenthusiastically followed after the cook up the stairs, away from the kitchen, leading them to the third floor.

This floor was very quiet compared to the other floors. The hallway was particularly narrow and the wooden floors beneath them creaked with each step. Zoro passed by many rooms and wooden doors, the whole place reminded him of a motel.

One of the light bulbs flickered, creating an eerie atmosphere added by the silence that existed between him and the blonde. Zoro almost jumped when the blonde shouted out, "Old man!" followed by a loud knocking.

From inside the room, a worn out voice commanded, "Come in eggplant."

When they entered, the room was much brighter than the hallway so Zoro scrunched up his eyes to get accustomed to his new surroundings. When the green haired man regained his vision, the first thing he saw was an old man wearing a cook's uniform and a very long chef's top hat. His hair was dirty blonde, a bit darker than Sanji's and his mustache was braided which was certainly peculiar. But the most unusual thing about this old man was his leg, well it wasn't a leg. Where there should've been a leg, there was a wooden stick.

Zoro couldn't help but gape at it. But soon, he abruptly realized what a mistake that was when the wooden leg struck him on top of his head faster than lightening. "What are you looking at shitty grass field?"

Zoro couldn't respond because the pain was immense. His hands reached out to the top of his head to feel a lump. _I'm guessing this is where the blonde learned his skills from_. He cursed at the old man silently to himself.

The young blonde cook was in the corner snickering towards Zoro until the wooden leg swung and socked him as well. "What are you laughing at shitty eggplant? You better have a good hell of a reason for bailing yesterday, we had no waiters. So Patty had to be the waiter and thanks to that, we lost customers." The old man growled out, making a clicking sound as he walked.

The blonde was slowly recovering and his eyes were twitching like mad, "S-" _cough_ "shitty old man, I came here to tell you why."

"What the fuck," was all Zoro had to say to get their attentions again. His hands were still gripping the fresh wound hidden within his green head.

The older cook stared at him with curious eyes like he just noticed that Zoro wasn't one of the employees. "Who the hell is this?" The head chef barked towards Sanji.

The green haired man snapped at the older chap. "Why the hell did you just kick me old man!" And instead of responding, the head chef merely gave him a sadistic grin before lashing out another attack, this time hitting Zoro square in the face."_Oof" _Zoro spit out as he flew toward Sanji.

"You eggplants got me so riled up," The old chef sat back down on his bed and stared at them with a stoic expression, giving no possible hints about what was running through his mind.

Zoro glared at the old man, his cheeks were burning like they were on fire from the kick. _I shouldn't attack old people but this guy is pissing me off._

He felt something squirm underneath him and came to a realization that he was sitting on top of the blonde cook. "Marimo, get the hell off of me," Sanji kept shoving Zoro's back but since his hands were useless, it had no effect upon Zoro.

Zoro awkwardly stood up. He didn't bother helping the cook since he knew that Sanji would automatically reject the aid.

The old man sitting on the bed had a twinkle in his eye like something just amused him. Zoro's temper flared, this man abused Zoro for no reason and he wasn't even sorry. Instead, he looked pretty pleased with himself.

Before the green haired man had anything to say, Sanji cut in."Shitty fucking old geezer, I swear I'm going to haunt you if I ever die before you." The blonde cursed the old man.

The corners of the old man's lips slanted upward and his white teeth showed as he grinned widely towards the young blonde cook, "That's not a way to talk to your head chef, eh eggplant?"

Sanji waved his hand dismissively at the comment then pointed his finger in the direction of the green haired man. "Whatever geezer, I'm just here to tell you that this cactus right here is here to replace me for work."

"Who're you calling a cactus, you stupid dartboard," Zoro insulted, obnoxiously starting an argument.

The blonde glared up into the green haired man's eyes threateningly. One side of his lips creased, making him seem like a wild animal, "Eh! You wanna go marimo?" Sanji asked as he brought his face closer towards the green haired man's.

Zoro didn't back down, instead, he remained then growled. "Bring it shit cook"

Both of them were struck by the rapid wooden leg yet again. "Shut it eggplants and explain." That was definitely an order and both of them knew it. Usually when Zoro was ordered around, he would snap back, but something about this old man just shouted, "Shut up, and Zoro listened to his instincts.

As the blonde explained the general picture of what was going on to the old man, Zoro zoned out, his earlier conversation with the kendo teacher flashed through his mind.

"_You took awhile," The man __leered towards__ him with __the__ creepy smile of his.__Zoro __remained __silen__t because__ he didn't want to blurt out unnecessary information which would endanger the cook._ _"What a nice surprise, partner.__" __The other man noticeably ridiculed Zoro._

_Zoro glowered towards the sadist who had dark bags under his eyes._ "_Only at work__,__"__ he warned. _

"_I wondered what your name was __but__ now I know, thanks to that cross dresser." Zoro swallowed, he felt saliva sliding down his throat as his adam's apple bobbed up and down. "Of course, I'm not blackmailing you or anything. I don't think anyone else__ who__ would give a shit about you__r identity." _

_Zoro didn't see what point __the other man__ was trying to make but he didn't like the feeling of someone having something against him._ _So to make things even, he said, _"_If you want me to trust you, give me your name." He demanded with a fierce glare._

_The__ weary looking__ man appeared unaffected by the glare he was receiving. Actually, he was __hardly __looking at Zoro__.__He__ seemed to be thinking __profoundly and__ the air __surrounding__ them __remained__ grim__. _

_After few seconds that seemed to be hours, a baritone tone cut through the silence like a knife._ "_Law, Law Trafalgar__, nice to meet you Zoro Roronoa__."_

Zoro stared at the cook who was still currently explaining the situation between them. The blonde was moving his hands around, making the story more theatrical than probably intended.

His eyes trailed toward the blonde's face where his striking blue visible eye was. It was darker than usual. Every time he ogled at the ocean eye, they were different types of blues and he recently came to a realization that the blonde's eye changed depending on his mood.

Then Zoro's own eyes traveled south, past the blonde's pale neck where his collarbones showed noticeably, then he passed by the thin chest, stomach, and eventually his legs. The blonde's legs appeared skimpy and scrawny but Zoro knew much better. Those legs contained immense amount of power, enough to send anyone flying across the room and maybe, just maybe, enough to defeat Zoro.

When the green haired man snapped his head back up to the two chefs, he noticed that the old man was examining him somewhat like how Zoro was observing Sanji.

And there was a fraction of a second where their eyes met but it was quickly broken when the old cook looked up at the young blonde once again. "So, you're telling me, your hands are shitted and in result he's going to be the waiter for a week."

Sanji was puffing on one of his cigarettes by now. He leisurely exhaled then answered the head chef. "Yeah"

The old man laughed quietly, "Does this guy even know how to carry plates?" His face was clearly amused by his own joke.

Zoro bristled in annoyance, "Oi oi, don't be talking like I'm not here and how hard could carrying few plates be?"The arrogance he usually possessed displayed in front of the two cooks.

Then the blonde's stomach growled noisily. The green haired man whipped his head towards Sanji and saw that a scarlet streak was creping upon his pale face. "I'm just hungry dammit, don't stare at me!" Sanji shouted to both Zoro and the head chef.

The old man paid no attention to those growls, instead, his face was back to being stern, "Fine I'll accept this but if there's a screw up, I'm firing you both." He warned both of the young men, no hint of it being a mere joke.

The young blonde took a moment to process the old chef's words. "WHAT?" The blonde yelled at the despicable demands as e pointed towards the green haired man, "But you know he's going to screw up!"

"Oi" Neither of the blondes took any heed towards Zoro.

The head chef continued as his fingers fiddled with his mustache. "I wanted to fire you lately anyways. All you do is pick fights with customers and flirt with every lady in sight, I don't need useless employees."

The blonde huffed and puffed, his fury evidently showed with the way he was fuming. Without a further argument, he ran out of the room childishly, leaving Zoro and the old man alone. "There's another reason for this, isn't there?" The green haired man asked the geezer out of the tiniest interest for the situation.

The chef just grinned secretively, "What would you know about that shitty eggplant, now get out of here and leave me in peace." The wooden leg swung just right above Zoro's head and before more could come, he speedily ran out the door.

Zoro's objective was to head down towards the kitchen once more to find the blonde cook, but instead of stairs, he found a balcony. Before he could turn back, he saw grayish smoke outside the glass door. Zoro stepped outside onto the balcony then involuntarily smelt the cigarette smoke in the air.

Without meeting the blonde's eye, Zoro sat right across from him, the temperature was warmer than earlier since the sun was at its highest point. In far distance he could hear people holding conversations but it was simply too far for him to make out the words.

"Marimo" The blonde stated then paused to take another huff of his cigarette, "Why are you here?" He asked, and then released the smoke trapped within his lips.

The green haired man closed his eyes to allow his other senses to enhance. "Just because," he replied to the young cook.

Zoro became drowsy with every inhale and exhale by the blonde. The lethargy from this morning came back with full force. Zoro soon entered the state of tranquility of slumber.

**AN: **There! You guys got some part of Zoro's mysterious job and Sanji's relationship with Zeff. I feel like the story is proceeding very slowly but that's the way I like it.

I hope you readers are as patient as I am. Don't worry, the romance will eventually turn up but I want the two of them to understand each other better first.

And I just put Law in the story since I couldn't think of any other swordsman. I hope you guys don't mind. And by the way, next chapter, I'll be revealing some of Sanji's past, I'll upload it within this week, hopefully.

I tried writing consistently but I get distracted so easily. Plus I am trying to write as I go along, but don't worry guys I got the main parts all planned out, I won't quit in the middle or anything.

I just have those periods where my grammars tend to be way worse than usual and those are the times where I read instead of write. Thank you again for all of your wonderful reviews.


	6. Chapter 6

The blonde stared at the other man napping, how the green haired man entered the dream world so easily was a damn mystery.

He was still angry at Zeff for the outrageous demands but deep inside, Sanji knew there had to be a reason for why this old man was doing this. And he damn well knew the reason. _Fuck you old man._

Zeff was always looking out for Sanji and the blonde would always get this overwhelming sense of guilt running through him. Every time the old man cared for him, he was driven by guilt. Every time he looked at that damn wooden leg, the guilt hit him with full force.

He didn't want to ruin that man's life even more; Sanji was the chain around his ankles making him unable to move forward. But even though his life had been ruined by Sanji, the old geezer still cared for him like he was his own son. That thought itself brought guilt and joy.

When he looked over at the serene face of this green haired man, he couldn't help but feel slight admiration. This man was so free in his own way. The insecurities of the world, it was like none of these affected this damn swordsman.

Sanji's hand felt a scorching sensation. The flames were nearing his fingers as the cigarette burned to crisps. When he grasped the situation, he threw the cigarette across in panic. It barely missed the swordsman's head and safely exited the balcony.

He no longer felt the need to smoke. His hands were in pain from the burn of the cigarette and from being overly stirred from the fight earlier with the green haired man.

Sanji closed his eyes to the world, entering the darkness of his own. The gloomy memories washed his mind as he searched for serenity.

_Hah..hah…_

_Sanji panted as he ran down the alleyway, his body was extremely light to carry but the malnutrition in him triggered dizziness and tired out his body faster than regular basis. But he __insisted__ on running__ continuously__._

_He stared up at the light shining from the full moon as he ran. It helped him see his vision much clearer. But the moon acted as a double agent, it helped his pursuers as well to find him, with that afterthought, he decided to stay out of the its luminous glow._

_But soon he realized what a mistake that was, it stripped him of his vision and soon he was tumbling down, scraping his knees and bloodying himself._

_I must keep on going, he thought. _

_He hurriedly stood__ up__ but immediately met pain as it shot up through his legs, the pain was immense but he couldn't even think of giving up. The determination boiled inside but fear was what kept him going._

_He felt sticky red fluid sliding down his legs as he attempted to run yet again. Feeling uneasy by the knowledge of a possible infection on his wounds, he hastily ripped a piece of his shirt and used that fabric to stop the bleeding._

_Sanji had some medical knowledge of his own, he knew he had to apply pressure to the injury to prevent further blood loss but the problem at the moment was the lack of time. He had to move on soon because if he didn't__,__ he knew he would face a dreadful penalty._

_With a secure fabric bind around his knees, he stood up and picked up his earlier pace._

_He heard a commotion nearby, the snarls of a car combined with laughers and chatters by people. His goal was to reach the city where he could hide himself among others and find safety._

_With every step, the sounds became louder. He clung to hope that still remained after all this time._

_He saw it, the lights. Street lights and he knew those sounds were just around the corner, he knew help was right there. A smile escaped on his dry chapped lips as he reached his hands out._

_Just a little more…_

_But with a thud on his head and a smile that remained plastered upon his face, he went down. The lights blurred out and the laughers rung stridently inside his head._

"_What a troublesome kid," said someone with a high pitched voice that had to be a woman's._

"_We get paid to catch a midget, it's not so bad," the other one responded with a husky voice._

"_Whatever, you call the boss."_

_The world around him started to fade as Sanji blacked out. That tiny ray of hope he held blew out like a fire._

Sanji woke up rubbing his eyes and immediately noticed that they had slight tears in them. His breathings were heavy and uneven; it was as if he couldn't get enough of air consumption. The sounds from his dream and the thuds of his own heart beating reverberated in his ears.

He ran his hand through his blonde hair, feeling cold beads of sweat on his forehead. After few seconds, his bangs settled back down in its place in front of Sanji's left eye.

The blonde reached out for his pack of cigarettes, he placed a stick in his mouth and brought it alive with a lighter. The buzzing in his ears gradually hushed and his systems were once again at peace.

He noticed that Zoro was lying down, snoring obnoxiously. He seemed to be drooling as well because saliva was sliding down at the corner of his mouth.

Sanji let out a small chuckle, this man actually appeared as this innocent youngster given that the usual creases from his frowns were gone. He almost looked like someone else without them.

Sanji crawled closer towards him, observing his face, the green hair was still a mystery and so were the three earrings on his ear.

The blonde thought back to the time when he was about to get earrings himself but stopped when someone told him he would look gay with it. But this man appeared exactly opposite of looking 'gay'." He seemed to be like the man of men if that made any sense, _what do they call it, masculine?_

That word fit Zoro perfectly.

The sharp jaw line and his straight yet high bone structured nose gave this man noticeable features. His pink lips were thin and slightly open with drool dripping out but they looked soft and moist. Sanji turned his gaze toward the swordsman's eyes.

Sanji was met with hazel round eyes staring back at him. In shock, he jumped back quickly but it was too late, the man already caught him staring.

His tone was grumpy and coarse but it wasn't angry, it was more like surprised, "Cook what the hell, if I didn't know any better, I would've said you were checking me out,"

Sanji's face was starting to turn beet red once again, _damn it face, control yourself! _He maintained his composed expression even if his insides were contorted, flipping with mortification and alarm. "H-hell no, I was just trying to see if…" He turned the wheels in his brain for a good comeback but nothing came up.

For once he was glad for the grumblings of his stomach, it cut off the silence that was playing out and when he noticed the swordsman's face, it held a slight grin that set flutters in Sanji's stomach. "I still haven't tried this restaurant's food yet, I'm starving, let's get something." The swordsman suggested as he sat up.

Sanji snapped out of his trance because he couldn't have anyone around him starving, even if that person was Marimo.

When they walked into the kitchen, all the cooks stared at them unusually. Some of them even started to murmur among each other. The blonde, as always, ignored them all, not a bit intrigued by the circumstances.

He walked towards Carne, who was currently bickering with Patty as always. "Oi Carne, can you make us some food," Sanji hated asking for favors especially when it came to making meals but this was a desperate situation.

Carne and Patty stopped arguing as they mutually turned in the direction of Sanji. Carne appeared quite shocked at the request but nodded in response. Patty strangely glanced from Zoro to Sanji as he walked past them.

The meals were quickly made by Carne which the green haired man took upstairs, back into the balcony.

When the blonde followed after Zoro, he detected the odd stares by the shitty cooks once more. He tried not to be disturbed by it but he had to admit that it was starting to bug him a bit. Something felt abnormal.

The dish made by Carne was spicy seafood pasta, it was nicely made but the sauce was slightly saltier than Sanji would've preferred.

However, the hunger that was gnawing his stomach didn't care about such little details, he was eating as fast as he can and Zoro tried to keep up with the pace of Sanji's ingestion.

After his plates were cleaned, Sanji remained hungry. He was far from being satisfied and it was extremely hard to avoid Zoro's untouched plate with wishful eyes.

When the green haired man picked up the plate, he wrapped the pasta around the fork and instead of eating it himself he placed it in front of Sanji's lips. The blonde struggled to think about his dignity but the delicious smell that seeped into his nose prevented any hesitation.

"Marimo, don't give it to me, that plate is yours," Sanji complained hypocritically while chewing, saying things that contradicted his actual desires. And it surely didn't fool Zoro, the green haired man continued to feed the blonde his own pasta and Sanji scoffed it, forgetting his dignity each time.

But when half of the content disappeared within the cook's stomach, he abruptly recalled that Zoro must be starving himself. And with that reflection, he refused to eat anymore.

Zoro merely shrugged by the rejection and finished the plate by himself. Sanji wanted to say thank you but the words were so hard to get out, especially towards this man.

Sanji's first impression of the other man was this _bastard_ who tells sarcastic remarks and owns a frown as an appearance, not a kind person who thought of others over himself.

The blonde sighed out deeply, his lungs were asking for nicotine yet again.

"Cook, I'll work now." Zoro announced as he stood up to stretch. Under his slightly tight white shirt, the blonde cook could see this man's muscles flexing. Muscles that held multiple cuts and bruises which Sanji was curious about but wasn't about to raise a question towards it.

"Didn't you hear the old man? He said I'm fired." He reminded this green haired man as he scratched his head irrelatively, still irked by the fact that his old fart decided today to fire Sanji's ass.

The green haired man glared at him as his upper lips curled, "He said _if_ I screw up."

"So, I'm fired," Sanji jibed as he imitated this man's smirk.

Zoro snorted, clearly annoyed at Sanji for underestimating him, "Like I said, how hard can it be?"

* * *

"How hard can it be?" The bothersome blonde was imitating him, Zoro glared at the cook and walked faster.

Sanji's laugher played out, clearly making fun of Zoro and his unsuccessful attempts at being a waiter.

Earlier, in the curly brow's restaurant, he recalled breaking at least a minimum of 5 plates. Not only that but he wasted food, spilled drinks on a customer, and picked a fight with a cook for calling Zoro a name he disfavored.

The name calling was oddly offensive to the green haired man. Naturally, he would let it go without a further discussion but the word 'gay,' somehow triggered his mind to madden.

When Zoro was picking up plates from the kitchen, his highly trained ears reluctantly heard a conversation spoken by the cooks. At the start of their rowdy discussion, the green haired man casually shrugged it off even if both of his and the cook's names were called. But it really snapped his veins when the irritating cooks started to discuss their presumptions of what happened between the two upstairs.

One of them reassured the green haired man by telling the other chef that they were simply holding a conversation with the head chef. But the other cook brushed off that suggestion by saying, "They probably had sex upstairs instead of talking to Zeff, I always knew Sanji had it in him."

It was infuriating to listen to these assumptions but it was even more maddening to hear them insult the blonde cook. Sanji was supposedly their fellow chef but these cooks were stepping over the border line of simple childish jokes.

And that's how Zoro basically got into a fight, to defend his own and Sanji's pride and integrity.

Zoro didn't tell the blonde any details behind the whole brawl because Zoro was afraid that the hot tempered cook would end up killing someone from the insults.

The fight ended with the old head chef having to kick Zoro out of the restaurant, unnecessarily cursing towards him like a sailor.

The green haired man was overly peeved by the fact that this blonde was laughing endlessly at Zoro but the reason he didn't snap back because he still felt guilty about this whole ordeal. Even though the cook was laughing, Zoro could tell that it was just a mask, the hidden melancholy hung heavily around them.

"Gomen cook," Zoro whispered, considerably hoping that the blonde had zero knowledge for this word.

Sanji stared at him in surprise. _Shit he does know._ "Did you just speak Japanese?" _Maybe he doesn't?_ "You don't really look Japanese though." _Whew he doesn't _"And, apology accepted." _Ah shit__ he does._

The swordsman groaned, "How the hell do you know Japanese?" This cook knew too much of his culture and that fact didn't feel so welcoming.

"How about you, how do you know?" Sanji asked with inquiry, raising his visible curly eyebrows from interest.

Zoro growled, "Bastard, I asked first."

"Oi, you're the one who's like 'mind your own business' you green dumbass." The blonde retorted with a snort.

Zoro flared, "Dammit you freaking ero cook, at least I don't have that curly eyelash."

"EH? Leave my eyelashes out of this, mossball," the blonde's face was very close to his own. He could even feel the cook's breathe on him. It smelled like cigarettes and another scent that he could not detect.

But before either of them could attack another, the cook became sidetracked by high school girls who were bypassing them, giggling from amusement. Sanji swiftly released Zoro as he ran in the direction of the girls saying things like "Mademoiselles" with an exaggerated French accent.

Zoro was left hanging and it aggravated him a great deal. He didn't like being ignored; he needed the blonde's attention again. And he knew the only thing that could catch this man's attention was to taunt and jibe."Dumbass," he said, far too loud to be a whisper.

And the reaction was exactly what he had hoped for.

Sanji turned away from the giggling girls to intensely glare towards Zoro, "Shitty Marimo, you wanna fight?" He growled as he pointed his finger dangerously close to the green haired man's face. And from the upcoming danger, the girls scurried away with frightened expressions and Zoro felt peculiarly accomplished.

"Bring it eyebrows," He responded with his eyes wide enough to make him seem like a maniac and additionally, he gave the blonde his famous slanted grin which sent shivers down anyone's spine.

But instead of appearing frightened, Sanji was unaffected. The blonde merely possessed that ferocious gaze in his eyes which caused the air around them to shift then still.

Since they were in an unpopulated area, not a single person was around to see the approaching brawl.

Once more, the first attack was made by the hot headed cook, kicking impossibly fast but when it came to the world of impossibility, Zoro was the king in it.

He dodged it easily by stepping to his left, then swung his fist toward the blonde's stomach but before the punch could land, Sanji kicked his left leg forward from behind and placed all of his weight into a one powerful kick, knocking Zoro off his feet again. But this time, the green haired man wasn't lucky enough to land on his feet.

Zoro was slammed brutally against a brick wall and when he landed, he heard a sickening crack which he hoped wasn't his skull.

The world began to spin and the ground beneath him was slithering, making him unstable. Even though he just had a taste of the devil himself, he felt incredibly alive. Zoro felt bloodthirsty, he wanted more, the blood within his body pumped in excitement.

Despite the fact that Zoro has fights with Kuina regularly, this was different; she never fought with pure strength because her grace and skill replaced them. But this, it was like a true male combat with honor and dignity.

The blonde sauntered towards Zoro, clearly enjoying this with that detestable grin set on his face. "Oi, don't tell me the high and mighty Zoro is already finished," he sarcastically remarked.

Zoro spat out blood before answering the damn cook, "In your dreams shit coo-agh"

His sentence was cut off by a kick that was sent towards Zoro's hip. _Damn it, I keep getting fucking abused by that shitty old man and this cook._ The kick was immensely painful but Zoro stood still because he refused to be knocked off his feet again.

Obviously taken aback by Zoro's struggle, Sanji showed hesitance and that was all the green haired man needed. Zoro tried to grab the blonde's arm to pull off his earlier judo move but Sanji had already seen it and took a step back to avoid it.

Zoro cursed silently, he had just wasted a perfectly good opportunity.

The blonde raised one of his legs high up in the air creating 180 degrees and brought it down upon the green haired man's chest. The force was so powerful that his legs gave up. Zoro crashed onto the ground with a hard thump.

Zoro panted harshly with the cook's shoe on top of his chest. "Admit that you lost," He could no longer make out the expression on Sanji's face; the night sky officially declared its consumption of any light that existed earlier.

The shadows on the blonde's face flickered, the scene reminded Zoro of a horror movie and sadly he was the victim, not the predator.

Zoro could only cough in response. The shoe on his chest was preventing him from breathing freely. He tasted blood in his mouth and even if the situation currently was in his displeasure, he refused to admit his loss.

He wrapped his hands around the blonde's ankle then gripped it tightly, incredibly tightly. He was indistinctly thinking of breaking it but loosened his grip when he heard people approaching. "Officer, this is where the fight is happening." A girl's voice cried out nearby.

"Fuck" Sanji muttered as he hastily lifted his foot off of Zoro. "Marimo, you think you can run?"He asked as the green haired man struggled to stand.

Even if most of his dignity was lost, Zoro couldn't continue to let the blonde down by allowing him to believe Zoro was weak. "You bet cook" He responded confidently.

A flashlight beamed their way, "Hey stop! You guys are arrested for public disturbance" A cop's voice rang through the block.

"Like hell we'll stop then" Sanji mumbled as he broke out into a sprint, implausibly fast.

Zoro smiled in response then dashed after the blonde cook. His whole body ached but it didn't matter because his blood coursed through his veins, giving him this stimulating thrill. Wind whistled in his ears and the chimes played out from his earrings. He heard laughers from himself and the cook. This whole thing was ridiculously hilarious.

The chase was quickly over since the fat old cop couldn't possibly match up to them.

Sanji took breaths more heavily than Zoro, possibly the consequences of smoking. "Wasn't that fun?" The blonde asked with a silly grin on his face as he took deep gulps of oxygen.

Zoro just stared at him and scowled, his body was calm yet his mind was pulsing, racing madly. His thoughts were integrating, making him unable to have clear thoughts.

The blonde tilted his head and frowned, his blonde hair was slightly misplaced out of his left eye and for a split second, Zoro was able to see what was underneath Sanji's blonde cloak of bangs.

But that only lasted for a moment; the shadow was yet again casted upon his pale peachy face. "What?" Sanji asked with a hint of curiosity but no unpleasantness, yet.

Zoro didn't like sticking his nose into places where it didn't belong in but this wasn't too personal or anything so he thought it was okay. "Why do you cover your eye?" He asked as he scratched his head.

For some reason, the green haired man paced in front of the cook, oddly feeling competitive. Also, he did not like the feeling of walking behind someone because it gave the other person the wrong impression of Zoro being unable to catch up to their pace or something.

The blonde noticed Zoro's sudden increase in speed, so yet again, he walked forward to get in front of Zoro, apparently he didn't favor the idea of the green haired man walking in front of him, "Why the sudden curiosity?"

Zoro frowned at the question and the sudden competition that emerged between them. As he walked faster to walk ahead of the cook, he continued on the conversation, "Just asking."

The blonde quickly hurried his pace and started to speed walk, "Well, it's unfair for me to answer questions when you are unwilling."

"Fine, I'll answer one question if you answer mine and they have to be valid but first," He cut off his sentence to sprint.

Then out of the blue, an all out battle started. The two men began to run with all their might for the second time that night. In between their competition, they exchanged words such as "bastard," "moss," or "eyebrows."

When Sanji's apartment was in sight, both men slowed their velocity, but the adrenaline rush was still pumping within their pulsing veins, causing them to wish for further action.

Zoro felt bruises budding across his skin, but he was willing to obtain new ones if he could fight this blonde yet again. However, he couldn't or didn't want to admit that he actually enjoyed their fights.

The green haired man kept his composure in his expression to pursue their abandoned topic from earlier. "So, are you going to answer me?"

The blonde gave him a mischievous look. Zoro imagined a light bulb representing the blonde's brain turning on, contained with malevolent thoughts on how to torture Zoro. "And if I answer, I can ask anything in return?" The blonde teased with a grin, leaning forward with his visible eye towards the green haired man.

"I said valid, meaning reasonable, not too personal things." He protested.

They stopped in front of the cook's place. Sanji ran his hand through his hair which should've disordered his blonde locks but didn't.

The cook remained silent for a moment which caused the situation to feel slightly uncomfortable to withstand. But that silence was broken when his low baritone voice spoke. "Be here by nine tomorrow marimo and if you want answers, you have to win my heart first." He responded with a peace sign.

The low rumbling chuckle of his played out before heading inside of his apartment, leaving Zoro confused and befuddled behind him.

…

"Damn curly brow for making fun of me." He cursed out the puzzling cook but the green haired man was smiling like a fool; his competitiveness side was stirred from that blonde's comment.

He knew that he shouldn't butt into other people's businesses but this blonde was like a tempting book waiting for it to be opened up. But he had to be careful, he wasn't about to reveal any secrets of his own.

He was walking around aimlessly, he seriously didn't have a single clue as to where he was but he wasn't about to call anyone for help yet.

When he entered an alleyway, he heard at least about twenty men approaching and Zoro groaned, he didn't have time for this.

The shadows were covering most of their faces but Zoro could tell that everyone had at least a single weapon in their hands. "Well well well bro, isn't it too dangerous for a single man to be traveling by himself this late at night?" Someone in the group spoke with a rustic tone.

Zoro began to grow impatient, "Shut up, if you want to fight, just start it already." He demanded with eager, his blood still boiling from the loss earlier.

He heard growls coming from the crowd and someone muttered, "Don't underestimate us millions."

"Millions? You're millions?" He asked in surprise, delighted by his sudden luck. Zoro was heading towards his night job anyways.

The group stopped growling at the recognition, "What if we are?" The same man with the rustic tone asked, attempting to sound fearsome.

Zoro grinned and at the speed of light, he grabbed the one who had just spoken and whispered into his ear, "take me to your boss."

**AN: **I tried adding more details since I noticed I've been lacking in descriptions in my earlier chapters but changing writing styles is pretty complicated so I asked tons of my friends for help and this is the result.

I just want to give some credits to my friends but since they don't' have an account here, I can't say check their account out or anything x.x Still, I love them and I love you my sweet readers who inspire me, thank you~


	7. Chapter 7

**Wednesday, 2nd day**

The blonde was up before nine.

He made sure to smoke, clean up his appearance, dress up nicely, and brush his teeth more than once. It felt as if the blonde actually cared about his looks in front of that green haired ape. Why would he care about that? Why should he care about Zoro's opinion of him?

Questions replayed over and over inside his mind until he heard the loud knocks on the door. And when he heard those sounds, why his stomach flipped from excitement was a damn mystery as well. "Yo Marimo." The blonde greeted as he leaned against the wall next to the door, instinctively posing.

Zoro, on the other hand, appeared terrible. His eyes were red and swollen with large dark bags underneath. Bruises were starting to turn yellow all over his body and by the sight; a tinge of regret filled the blonde since he was the one responsible for them. Zoro opened his mouth wide to release a yawn, "Cook, you look more prepared than-"He released another yawn, "yesterday." His hands reached up to rub the welling tears in his eyes.

The blonde stepped aside to allow the other man to enter. "And you're awfully looking shittier than yesterday," He unintentionally insulted.

The green haired man glared at the cook sourly and clicked his tongue, "Cook, I am not feeling it today so leave me the fuck alone." He told the blonde off as he dragged himself past Sanji.

Their shoulders gently brushed past against another and the cook noticed this little act much more than he should have.

The green haired man continued his zombie-like walk until he hit the couch to crash on it. His legs hung lifelessly at the edge since the couch was way too small for this tall man.

Sanji stared at the man, temper was rising but he also felt baffled and to add to those emotions, he felt indecisive of what to do next. The blonde thought of kicking him awake just like the day before but shrugged that thought off because he didn't want to cause even more bruises to emerge against his tanned skin.

He stared at the green haired man's face again. The expression of his was relaxed but the fatigue was clearly visible. The blonde felt slightly sympathy and decided to allow this man sleep.

Sanji pulled out a downy blanket from his closet and placed it on top of Zoro because the temperature in his house was way below room temperature.

The blonde's hands felt much better than yesterday, but it still stung when he moved it around too much. He decided to eat cereal with plastic utensils that weighed little because he didn't want his hands to exert too much.

He stared at Zoro once more, whose mouth was open crookedly. His eyelids were only halfway shut and a tiny snot bubble was forming through his nose, very unattractive. To add to his stupid appearance, he was even snoring loudly. But Sanji had to admit that it was quite… _Cute._

_Oh my god, I did not just call this brute man cute._ Sanji wailed, he was going crazy, which was the only explanation at the moment.

After he finished breakfast, He started heading out but abruptly stopped when he heard a song coming out of Zoro's pocket. The blonde somewhat panicked because he didn't want Zoro to wake up. Sanji vigilantly tip toed back towards his couch where the green haired man was lying down.

The blonde reached inside Zoro's pocket and answered the call. He felt rather wary because this was like invading this man's personal business. He didn't want to snoop into this man's life without his permission but neither did he want him to wake up.

"Zoro baby?" A playful young male's voice called out, "Are you free tonight? Come hang out with us, you've been neglecting us for so long! You can bring Kuina if you want but she doesn't like going to the bar, well she doesn't like public places in general. Still, I'll buy you drinks, you know you like drinks! Zoro! Answer me, are you tired?"

Sanji suppressed a laugh, he already liked this boisterously energetic man, "Sorry man, this is someone else, mosshead is currently sleeping on my couch"

"Wait what? This is a guy, it's early in the morning, and Zoro is on your couch." The other man paused, and the blonde quickly caught up to his thoughts. "Oh Zoro you sneak, don't worry, both of your secrets shall be safe with me."

Sanji protested, "No! It's not what you're thinking, it's really a long story and I'm sure marimo can explain it to you later."

There was another pause before the other man spoke once more. "You guys have pet names for each other?"He asked impishly, teasing the blonde.

"What? No, I mean Zoro" Sanji corrected himself so the other man wouldn't acquire strange ideas.

"Oh, don't let me stop you," the other man taunted. Sanji groaned because it was going to be impossible to convince this man. "So, make sure to drag Zoro to the usual place. Just say usual place, he'll know what we're talking about. By the way, what's your name mysterious man?"

"It's Sanji," he answered.

A chuckle playfully rang through the line. "Well nice to meet you Sanji, I'm Ace, come with Zoro tonight, it'll be fun, okay bye!"

The phone call ended with a beep. Even though the call was short, Saji felt exhausted from it. He placed the phone back inside the green haired man's pocket. The whole procedure didn't even stir the other man, which proved how exhausted he was.

Sanji swiftly wrote a note, the handwriting came out messily since he avoided applying too much pressure on his hands but he didn't really care, as long as it was legible.

**. . .**

When Sanji reached his working place, few people greeted him. The body odor was hard to miss but the array of combat techniques being practiced all at once was a pleasant distraction.

Bon was overly friendly with his okama kenpo addition to occasional touches here and there towards Sanji's private parts. To avoid getting touched, he used some random excuses to escape from this cross dressing man.

When the blonde passed by the kendo room, he couldn't help but to glimpse towards the kendo teacher.

His appearance was same as always, dark shadow covering his eyes with a tiny goatee was on his chin, two small golden hoop earrings on each side of his ears, and his outfit consisting of a yellow/black sweater and blue jeans that was covered in black dots. The whole physical appearance of his gave the man a sinister appearance.

The other man noticed the blonde staring and in response, he smiled at Sanji. Not one those pleasant smiles, instead, this was more like one of those 'Oh I'm going to love torturing you so much' smiles.

The cook hastily turned away from the eye contact as he continued onto his own room, still wondering about the kendo teacher's relations with the green haired man.

When he entered the room to greet his waiting children, he was unexpectedly attacked. The blonde shouted out random curses as he squirmed underneath the tiny bodies.

For a second, he thought the kids were all hugging him or something because they all missed him until one of the kids asked, "Mr. Blackleg, can we get a black belt now?"

Sanji flinched; he quickly stretched his legs with an incredible flexibility and spun, kicking the kids away from him. The kicks weren't that powerful, not as powerful as the ones he used against the mosshead but enough to maybe give the children few bruises or two.

The kids who were hit groaned underneath the blonde, obviously in pain from the kick.

Sanji spoke in a serious voice, "It's dishonorable to attack a single person with a huge group. It's cowardly and weak." Then he paused because he felt as if the swordsman would say something like this. The kids were stared at him with ashamed eyes, it was quite pitiful. Anyone would allow them to go on without any sorts of punishments but Sanji wasn't anyone and he certainly wasn't a lenient person. "So, those who attacked, run around the gym 50 times addition to 60 crunches."

The kids groaned but followed the blonde's demands without any sorts of complaints.

* * *

When Zoro opened his eyes, he expected to see his usual dingy place but he was wrong, this place was the opposite of what you call dingy.

But at first, it didn't alert him too much since he was used to waking up in foreign places.

When he stirred, he felt a blanket over him, it was awfully fluffy and comforting, it made him wish for sleep yet again but something was wrong. His brain was rather slow today, why was he in an unfamiliar place with a blanket over him?

Zoro jerked up from his comfortable spot and looked around. He anticipated a leg to fly towards him at a rapid speed but none came. The place was awfully quiet and it was rather strange and lonely without the cook.

The green haired man stood then stretched, the sudden cold air sent shivers down his back and caused goose bumps to appear across his skin. He wrapped his arms around himself as his teeth began to chatter. He draped the blanket around himself and started walking around. _Where__ the hell__ is that dart brow?_

Zoro started to pace about but the blonde cook was nowhere to be found, but he stopped searching when he noticed a note written by the cook on top of the table.

At the prelude, it began with a whole bunch of insults towards Zoro for bitching at the blonde earlier, then in conclusion, there was a p.s. telling him to eat breakfast and that Sanji will be back by noon.

Even if the swordsman didn't favor the idea of staying alone in this foreign place, he was delighted to know that the blonde left him so he would be able to take a soothing nap. All the stress from the night before left him, leaving him content and restful.

Zoro was hungry but he didn't know what to make, he was sure that the sassy cook didn't own any instant stuff and he didn't feel like eating anything light such as cereal. The green haired man looked inside the refrigerator to decide.

Inside the silver mechanical, the rows were compacted with a variety of provisions that filled every slot of the food pyramid.

He started to drool at the corner of his mouth but wiped it off quickly. He didn't want to act like Luffy, Ace's little brother who eats like there is no tomorrow. But the comical thing was that no matter how much Luffy ate, he always remained skinny and to add to it, he had a special charm that drew people towards him, which included girls.

Zoro simply made himself a sandwich and watched television. It was too quiet in the house without the blonde.

* * *

After the kids left, Sanji stayed behind to train by himself. Ever since he lost to Zoro the first time, he had this spark of determination to not lose anymore.

He used the punching bags as opponents and with each hit, his kicks became more vicious. Memories flooded in as the bitter feelings of losing piled up, with his final hit, the punching bag ripped. Sand flowed out of the broken spot, creating a mess on the floor. _Shit,_ Sanji thought to himself,_ I broke another __one._

A light chuckle filled the room and Sanji alertly spun around to see where the sound came from. "Ah, you caught me." The kendo teacher said in a flat tone. He was leaning against the door with a single sword in his hand. A real sword, not a bamboo or a wooden sword, this was the real deal.

Sanji was dreadfully aware of how they were alone in this room, maybe the whole entire building. He could definitely take care of himself but this man in front of him just spelled danger.

"What the fuck do you want?" He asked coldly as he felt the sweat droplets dripping down his temple.

The man grinned towards him, "I'm just curious about how much you heard yesterday." The weary appearing man asked the blonde.

Sanji froze, _how the hell does he know that it was me?_ He had to choose his words wisely, he had to. He didn't know why but he knew he had to. The blonde reached for his cigarette pack. His pale lean fingers cupped the cigarette carefully and lit it up.

The other man watched every move, taking in even the slightest shifts with his dark obsidian eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Sanji slurred as the smoke rolled inside his tongue, he wasn't about to give in easily and he expected the same from the other man.

But unpredictably, the other man merely shrugged and gave up without a fight, "Alright, just tell your green haired friend that I said hello." He asked of the blonde as he grinned once more.

Sanji glared at the man, "Like hell, you rude bastard. I don't even fucking know your name, now get out of my sight."

"How rude of me," He paused then continued, "I'm Trafalgar Law." He told the blonde as he outstretched one of his hands toward Sanji.

Sanji raised one of his eyebrows "Should I be worried that you're acting completely different from the last time we met?" He shook Law's hand because he was never a rude bastard and he wasn't about to start now.

Trafalgar's eyes grew somewhat wider as he asked, "We met?"

Sanji rolled his eyes, "Yeah, you were awfully rude," he told him as he wiped the sweat beads off of his face.

The other man remained silent and with each passing second, the sword in his hand became much more noticeable. The blonde tried his best to disregard the threat that was in Law's hands but it became even more conspicuous when the light reflected off of it.

Sanji swallowed, he didn't know what to do nor what to say and that was definitely a first in awhile. "Well, nice meeting you I guess." He said to the dangerous man. Law nodded slightly in response then walked away, dragging his silver sharp metal behind him.

The blonde was extremely baffled about this whole ordeal and he felt as if he deserved some answers today.

* * *

After watching few children shows, Zoro wondered if anyone could actually die of boredom. He started doing random exercises and meditated in front the television. But his generally long patience was running out. It was already way past noon which marked the end of Sanji's shift but the blonde idiot was still not home yet.

But when he heard the swing of the door, he jumped up and ran over to greet Sanji. The cook stared at him in surprise when he met Zoro's enthusiasm. "Uh, hi marimo" He greeted with uncertainty as if wondering if someone else took over the green haired man's body.

"Curlybrow, what took you so long?" Zoro asked as he tagged along with the blonde. Sanji glared at him from the name calling but didn't say anything about it, "I was talking to your friend? Uh Ithink he's your friend, his name is Law."

Zoro brief happiness ended as dread crept inside, "What? What happened?"He asked impatiently.

The blonde merely stared at him with his visible eye, confusion written everywhere on his face. "That's what I wanted to ask you, tell me about what I heard yesterday."

"It's none of your business," He didn't mean to say it so rudely but it came out so naturally from Zoro's mouth. It was like his automatic defence mechanism.

The blonde took a threatening step forward, getting into Zoro's personal bubble. The blonde's nose was dangerously close to his own and he felt the cigarette breath seeping into his nostrils when Sanji spoke in a menacing tone. "It is my fucking business. You know why? He came to me with a real fucking sword in his hands, asking me about the conversation I heard between you two. I am already involved in this shit and I think I deserve some answers"

Zoro took few steps away from the blonde. He suspected that Law knew, that guy was damn smart after all but the problem was what he was going to do with this knowledge. Law wasn't his enemy but neither was he a friend. "Woah, shitty cook, calm down." He told the blonde as he pushed Sanji's chest with the palm of his hands.

Sanji started puffing on another one of his cigarettes to calm down. Then he went inside the kitchen to fix something to eat but Zoro stopped him, he didn't want the blonde to injure his hands further. The blonde argued at first but eventually gave up.

As Zoro spread out the ingredients to make sandwiches, the blonde continued on the discussion, "So, are you going to tell me or not shitty marimo?"

"No way in hell, ero cook."And again, his voice was harsher than intended.

He felt the blonde tense behind him and noticed that his voice was cold as ever, "Why not? Isn't it my business, you shitty mosshead?"

Zoro let out a heavy sigh, "it's not just you, there's a reason why I can't tell anyone. Just drop it, you can ask me other questions." It was a risk but he was willing to take it if it meant getting further away from this topic. He hoped the blonde would just take the bait and leave this conversation behind.

He pulled up a chair to join Sanji at the table as he placed two plates in front of himself and the blonde. The blonde put out his cigarette to eagerly pick up his sandwich. "You can make sandwiches at least." The blonde commented as he took a bite.

"Bastard," The green haired man growled but was clandestinely pleased with the compliment.

Few minutes passed and the only sounds they heard were chewing and slurping. Most of noises were from Zoro but for once, the cook wasn't minding the obnoxious actions. Zoro could tell that the blonde was thinking of a good question to ask and he prepared himself for the worst.

"So, what made you start swordsmanship?"

This question caused Zoro to feel slightly bewildered, _out of all of the things he could've asked, he wants to know about this the most?_ But the green haired man quickly discarded this thought as he tried to remember his childhood, when he first started kendo. The harder he thought, the more his brows creased.

All he remembered from the past was wishing to be the leader of a dojo or something childish like that. Then he met Kuina whom was the reason behind all his aspirations. Zoro swallowed before speaking, "I actually didn't really care for swordsmanship until I met Kuina and her father, I just wanted to be the best at something and kendo happened to be the one I chose."

The blonde stopped chewing again to ask another question, "How did Kuina inspire you to swordsmanship?" He asked with inquiry.

"Oi, I said one question," Zoro reminded, feeling uncomfortable with every bypassing second.

To counter this, Sanji said. "I clearly remember hearing an s at the end."

Zoro frowned, he didn't remember what he said but he didn't like going against his own words. So he continued, "She knows how to wield swords too and damn, she is so fucking good at it, I couldn't beat her at all when we were younger. She was the best one in the dojo and she used to be my ultimate goal." He told the blonde but abruptly stopped_.__D__amn why did I just rant like that to th__e__ shitty cook?_

He expected laugher or a sarcastic comment but neither came, instead, the blonde merely owned a tender smile on his face, silently encouraging Zoro to go on.

"When we were little, I challenged the strongest one in Kuina's dad's dojo and Kuina stepped forward. I was offended at first because she was a _girl_ and I thought I would be able to beat her easily." He paused to take a bite out of his sandwich, "But I was dead wrong. She whooped my ass without effort." He swallowed, "Then, I trained every day and night just so I could beat her, I even skipped school and overlooked my education to train. I guess that determination was what inspired me into swordsmanship."

Zoro quickly finished his sandwich as he carefully watched the blonde's expression. Zoro was strangely nervous because he never really talked about his past to anyone before, not even to Kuina. Well she was in his past so he didn't think it was necessary.

Sanji bit into his sandwich, taking very tiny portions with each bite. The green haired man couldn't distinguish his eyes. The blonde hair was casting a shadow on his face.

Zoro placed his chin on his palm and stayed quiet as the blonde scoffed down every last bits of the sandwich, even the small crumbs from the crust and the tiny drops of the sauce that had been dripping onto the plate, the cook devoured it all.

When Sanji at last raised his gaze, there was not a slightest hint of humor or anything such that Zoro expected. In its place, his eye was surprisingly full of envy and loneliness. "I guess I can kind of see why Kuina likes you so much." He suddenly mumbled with a pout.

Zoro blinked in surprise then grinned, "Was that compliments cook?" He asked sarcastically, covering the sudden shock with those words.

"First and the last marimo, now clean this shit up," The blonde demanded as he pointed towards the plates. Even if he was unkindly ordering Zoro around, the blonde was clearly embarrassed because his ears were turning scarlet red.

Zoro picked up both of their plates as he turned on the faucet to start washing the dishes. In the background, he faintly heard the blonde's voice but it wasn't comprehensible. "What?" Zoro yelled out.

"I said," the blonde stretched that word then continued, "that one of your friends named Ace asked me to tell you to meet them at the usual place or whatever and he invited me too."

He turned the faucet off and wiped his hands on his sweats, "Huh? When did you talk to him?" Zoro asked with puzzlement.

The blonde turned away from his suspicious gaze, "Well, you were sleeping and I just answered your phone..."

Zoro knew that he meant well, but the irritation arose with each passing word, "Why the fuck didn't you just wake me up?" He couldn't help but think of what ifs. What if it wasn't Ace but someone else?

But the blonde's temper was not something to be messed with. When Sanji is being pushed into a corner, he doesn't back down, instead, he pushes back with double the intensity. That was something Zoro admired about this man.

"Fuck you marimo, I fucking let you sleep peacefully by stopping that stupid ring tone of yours and you just have to be a shitty bastard about it, well I hope the ground swallows you and rips you apart while you fall into the depts of hell," Sanji growled out then mumbled, " shitty fucking marimo, ungrateful little shit."

Admiration over, Zoro was pissed, "Shitty cook, I never told you to let me sleep or anything, just go mind your own fucking business, god damn, I hate people like you who always has to put their noses into places it don't belong in."

Then he heard his familiar ring tone which happened to interrupt the heating argument between the two. Zoro answered the call while fiercely glaring at the cook. "What?" He rudely snapped at the other person on the phone.

"Well, mister grumpy, you ditch me and now you snap at me?" A familiar voice rang out, teasing Zoro in a pleasant way.

And with the voice, Zoro's anger immediately softened, "Kuina?" He asked to make sure.

Kuina giggled as she continued to tease the green haired man. "Well who else?" Her voice rang clearly through the phone.

"Why are you calling?" He questioned, not that he was complaining, as he turned away from the blonde's piercing eye. Sanji was burning holes with his fierce glare.

"Ace called me and asked if I wanted to go to the bar but I'm refusing to go if you're not going." She answered, evidently not offended by the question.

"Well, I'm definitely going, Ace normally buys me free booze and where there's booze, I'm always there." Zoro told her jokingly with a chuckle.

A sweet laugher rang and it sweetly chimed like a song, "Zoro, you never change."

"So meeting you tonight?"He asked as a tiny grin stretched diagonally across his face.

"Mm, we'll have another drinking contest." She suggested, still laughing from his earlier joke.

Zoro gently replied, "I'm up for the challenge," after another chuckle, she hung up. The green haired man was smiling to himself, he already long forgotten about what happened before the phone call but was instantaneously reminded when he met the blonde's face. The shocking blue eye zapped through Zoro as if he had been hit by a lightening.

For some reason, this situation was very intimidating but Zoro was not the type to back down. "What are you looking at shit cook?" He tried to take out the maliciousness but it failed, miserably.

The stormy eye of the blonde's became even stormier. The green haired man already knew that he was in some deep shit. The cook opened his lips and violent words flew out, "Well asshole, I was just wondering about your stupid sappy smile, it really looks stupid on a dumb person like you."

_Calm down Zoro, he's just trying to rile you up again._

"You know, I really take back what I said earlier, I don't know why your pretty girlfriend chose a retard like you. It's really a mystery. You can't do shit, you can't cook nor clean, you can't even do some simple crap like carrying plates around."

_Calm..._

"Your personality is shit too, you're lazy as fuck, and you're just a big muscle freak who functions without a brain-" His sentence was cut short when a punch met the blonde's chin. With the contact, an appalling crack was heard stridently.

Sanji flew up just to crash down and he landed, he appeared to be a rag doll because of his lifeless form. The green haired man couldn't think reasonably any longer. He never really snapped like this, but around this blonde, his temper was impossible to control. He had to calm down, he had to get away.

* * *

Sanji couldn't stand nor could he move even in the slightest, the pain was too much but it wasn't his chin that was giving him trouble, it was his head that continued to spin, making him feel drunk.

His whole body felt as if something was on top of him, making him incapable of neither shifting nor budging. He heard the door slam behind his head and the angry footsteps of the green haired man became faded away with each passing second.

**AN**: BOOM! They had a fight, I get frustrated with Zoro myself when he is all lovey dovey with Kuina but that's all part of the plot~

And poor Sanji, the reason he is paralyzed is because when your chin is hit, the shock wave is sent to your brain and sometimes, most times, the person faints, but since Sanji is strong, he just became paralyzed. Zoro on the other hand is usually a composed person but we all know he isn't calm around Sanji.

They both love to taunt each other :3

And earlier, Sanji exploded in anger because he was nervous. People tend to become angry when they become nervous, well depends on the person's personality, but I thought it suit Sanji's character pretty well.


	8. Chapter 8

**Thursday, 3rd day**

The crispy morning light shined through the window, reflecting its crimson light upon Sanji, he had slept on the floor the night before because of the whole paralysis effect. He panicked the whole night until the fatigue finally took over.

He groaned from the sudden sharp pain spreading across his back. He was not used to the hard cold floor as a bed but he could not be upset with Zoro because what happened last night was completely his fault.

He didn't know what came over him. It was just that happiness in Zoro's face, voice, and everything about him. Sanji envied the man, not that he would ever admit it out loud but it was so frustrating. He felt some connection with Zoro and expected their lives to be similar, yet the green haired man was much happier, freer, and so damn peaceful unlike Sanji.

The blonde moved his wrists around and found that he surprisingly could. The whole process did not cause any distress on his hands. He stood up using only his legs which he could do easily since it was supported by his powerful muscles in his legs and the flexibility he owned.

With a crack, his back felt relief but his head was still spinning and his chin was suffering from the heavy blow he received the night before. But he was used to abuse and pain, this was nothing compared to the past he held, not even close.

He ditched the depressing thought behind, he knew what was necessary, but he was hesitant. He knew he had to apologize to Zoro because he went way past the line last night. Sanji was certain that the green haired man was not going to come over today, not after what happened.

Sanji suspired heavily, this man's opinion of him mattered profoundly, and the thought disturbed Sanji.

_Why does it matter?_

Zoro barely affected Sanji's life, he was a total stranger who agitated him to no ends, and he was an idiot who barely displayed emotion except toward his lover, Kuina. He was a cocky bastard who shortened Sanji's already short temper. Yet he was a man whom Sanji deeply respected even if they only had short time together. It was a rare case since Sanji barely respected anyone.

Sanji stretched out on the floor like a kitten as he yawned. It was about eight o'clock, his usual routine required getting up around seven but he felt like being slothful for the day. He wanted to sleep further, back to his sweet placid dream but he knew he would have to return to the reality sooner or later.

He preferred later nonetheless.

* * *

**(The night of the 2nd day)**

Zoro stomped out the cook's apartment in vexation, not at Sanji but at himself for showing anger, it wasn't a sign of strength to unleash power, but instead, it was the sign of weakness.

His sensei, Kuina's father, once told him that it was easier for one to release frustration than to simply remain composed. The swordsman trained his whole life to keep his emotions under control, yet he didn't, he couldn't around the blonde. It was pathetic and pitiful.

He needed something to clear his mind. He needed something that could stir his mind, enabling him to forget. He needed his liquor.

Zoro drove to his "usual place" that Ace and the cook mentioned. It was a bar few blocks away from his house, a bar called Blueno's Bar. It was a fine bar where it wasn't too sophisticated and not too feral, he hated bars that acted as clubs, the females were all too skanky and the males were all sex deprived animals who acted forward driven by their sexual desires. Blueno's Bar was a perfect hangout place for him and his friends.

When he parked in front of the bar, his heart lightened by the blue convertible in sight. It was Kuina's car. He slightly grinned at the fact that they owned the same type of cars.

When they were sixteen, Kuina's father suggested a gift to both of them. Zoro was about to refuse at first but he knew that Koshiro was an honorable man who expected his gifts to be accepted. It would've been rude to refuse rather than to just accept but what Zoro didn't expect was a car with a ribbon on top and a note saying "have a nice drive." Then later finding out Kuina having the exact same car except in different color, her father did it purposely thinking it was romantic for the two of them.

At first, since they weren't going out yet, they both felt dissatisfied but now it was just one of the nice memories they shared together.

Zoro didn't mind if convertibles were girly cars, he didn't care for other's opinions of him. As long as it took him to places and worked perfectly fine, it did not matter to him one bit.

Zoro walked into the bar, and then found himself immediately surrounded by his gang of friends. The first one who caught his eyes was a large buff man named Franky, who had a very noticeable electric spiking blue hair that was hard to not notice right away. Then his eyes traveled toward the raven haired brothers, Luffy and Ace, they both owned charming smiles that won over girl's hearts any day. Then there was Brook who was almost literally skins and bones, he was so skinny yet gigantically tall and his afro was also difficult to miss.

His friends were bunch of weirdoes, they had a specific air around them that turned everything into a party but they were good people who Zoro would never want to replace. But he noticed some people were missing.

"Where are Usopp and Chopper?" He asked to anyone in particular out loud. The one who happened to answer was the blue haired man.

"Oww," Franky howled as he struck a pose, Zoro was too used to this to react. "Usopp is currently spending time with Kaya, he says it's a friendly meeting but I call it a date." The spunky man said with a wink. Then his face scrunched up as if he was thinking, "I don't know where the little guy is though."

That's when Luffy cut in, "Chopper? He told me something about medical emergency and something about his old lady and is that food?" The young man's attention began to hold somewhere else, and then he walked away with no further comment towards Zoro.

Then Ace and Brook filled him in, apparently Chopper was treating a patient with critical injuries and his boss, wouldn't let him leave.

_It's always that old hag_, Zoro thought, if Kureha was here to hear his thoughts, Zoro would've been kicked across the room by now.

The green haired man didn't realize his eyes were lingering somewhere else until Ace spoke, "Kuina's currently in the bathroom right now." The freckled man stated with a grin. "By the way, why didn't you bring that guy with you? He sounded pretty... Innocent."

At Ace's comment, he snorted in disbelief. "Innocent my ass," He did not want to get on the topic of Sanji, he came here to get away and forget anything that involved the blonde but he knew that wasn't going to happen. Ace rarely took interest in Zoro's friends and once he does, he would keep asking never ending questions about them.

"Yes yours and his ass indeed." Ace mumbled loudly with a dreamy smile.

Zoro narrowed his eyes in confusion, "What the hell are you talking about?" But he knew exactly what this perverted man was talking about.

"Nothing, now answer my damn question, why isn't he here?" he grumbled as he snapped out of his entranced look.

After Zoro finished his rant about the blonde, the raven haired man was deep in thought. In the beginning, he was thinking about giving Ace only one part of the story but Ace insisted on squeezing every last bit out of Zoro.

"He sounds like a prick," Franky spoke and the green haired man soon realized that his whole crew secretly listened to the whole conversation, even Luffy who normally didn't have the patience to hear anyone out.

Brook cut in, starting with usual obnoxious laugher, "Yohohoho, he sounds like a gentleman."

"Gentleman? Which part?" Zoro scoffed out, choking on his small glass of gin.

"Well it sounds like he respects women, not you Zoro-san, since you don't look a bit like a lady." Brook explained in a matter-of-fact voice.

Luffy was chewing on some ribs when he spoke, "He sounds like someone I know."

Before anyone could respond, Ace slammed his drink down harshly causing everyone to stare in curiosity. "It's your fault," the freckled man yelled towards Zoro in displeasure.

"What the hell Ace?"Zoro responded from his friend's disclosure.

"Well, who likes it when someone else is happy in front of you when you're unhappy, you get me? God Zoro, you are so oblivious sometimes." Ace downed his glass in one gulp and his other friends nodded in agreement.

Zoro just glared intensely towards every one of them, he didn't really care for the other man's dissatisfaction but it did make some sense.

Brook calmly spoke in a sensible voice. "Well Zoro san, to clear this situation, I think he envies you in a way. You are clearly content with your life but this man, Sanji, doesn't seem to be satisfied with what he has at the moment. Maybe he feels connection between you and seeing you to be the only one happy leaves him to feel oh I don't know, empty?" The older man had a nice point there; it got the wheels in Zoro's mind to start rolling.

"What are you trying to say Brook?" He asked. His lips were closed tightly at the rim of his glass; the intoxicating smell of his alcohol was strong. Zoro truly had no idea why he liked this stuff so much, he knew it was all toxins but it tasted so damn good.

Brook was tapping his violin case which he carried around everywhere since he was a musician prodigy who randomly had urges to play a tune. "I'm saying that you should forgive him, he seems like someone who can't speak out his feelings easily. Maybe you should try to understand him better."

"That's so touching," Franky had watery eyes and he was sniffing, "I take back my comment about saying he's a prick." His hands held a tissue to blow out his nose.

Zoro ignored the man, "I don't want to pry into his business, i don't even know if I should go tomorrow."

"Go Zoro san, you may not believe in the idea of breaking into someone's mind but for some people, it's necessary, it's essential, you may just be the savior to his problems."

After that comment, he took out his violin out of his case and the people in the bar cheered. They all knew how addicting the sounds created by Brook was. The tall afro man started the song off with a slow classical song which Zoro recognized as Beethoven Symphony number 5 then he started improvising, switching the genres around from rock, jazz, and then ending with pop.

Through the whole song, Zoro was contemplating whether if he should actually pry into this man's business or not.

Through experience, Zoro was not fond of the idea of someone getting through him, not even if that person was Kuina, but something Brook said intrigued Zoro. He did feel that the idiot cook was off. He wasn't completely oblivious as Ace implied, he felt the cook's loneliness from the empty smiles he always received and when he first met Sanji at his restaurant, the red haired woman, he could tell that she was important to the blonde.

The raven haired brothers were snoring next to him, both of them held cups in their hands. It was pretty comical to see them like this. In public, when they, out of the blue, dropped their heads to sleep, strangers always panicked thinking they died or something, but it was just one of their many strange traits they held.

Zoro had forgotten about Kuina this whole conversation, he wondered where she was. It had been awhile since Ace told him that she was in the bathroom.

He unconsciously looked around to unexpectedly catch those familiar cropped black hair amongst strangers in another table. Zoro marched over to that table in slight irritation, _what is she doing among other men?_

As he headed closer, he heard one of her shouts, "ANOTHER!" She cried out with the slam of the beer can.

The men around her were frowning in displeasure, all of them appeared tipsy, and the table was full of beer cans. The only one who looked normal was Kuina who had that determination firing in her expression.

One of the men spoke up, his voice was slurred and slightly unclear, "Come on sis, another one? All of us are already…" he paused to hiccup, "wasted."

"Guess I win then gentlemen," Kuina evilly grinned, that look she always held after winning a competition. She pulled herself out of the chair then stalked off from the table, crashing against Zoro. "Oh sorry," She started off until she saw that it was her familiar lover, "Zoro? You're awfully late." Kuina stated mockingly.

"What was that about?"

Kuina placed one of her fingers to her temple, "Hm how do I start this, so they started flirting with me when I came out of the bathroom, they said if I win, I'll get free drinks and if they win then they can take me out on a date. Since you weren't here and I was bored, I just agreed." She told her story with a fast pace, Zoro almost missed certain words because of it but he luckily caught it all.

"Oh and you won," this didn't surprise Zoro at all, Kuina was known for her competitive side just like himself. One of the many reasons why they got along with each other so well

She smirked, "Damn right," she stood on her toes to give herself height. Her soft lips met Zoro's own and his instinct was to make the kiss deeper to feel her lips more but Kuina pulled away before it could get anywhere further.

They immediately caught the attention of the place, his friends were cheering for them and the guys who just had the competition with Kuina were booing playfully. "Sister come on, ditch that guy!"

Through the passing night, Kuina and Zoro started having a drinking contest of their own. Few of his friends entered as well but all of them were knocked out before Zoro obtained the slightest buzz in the back of his head. Kuina however was starting to look a bit tipsy herself, but that was only because she had a head start.

Right before midnight, Zoro volunteered to drive everyone home since all of them were wasted, exception of him and Kuina since neither of them would ever allow alcohol to consume them completely.

After dropping his friends off, the only one left was Kuina. Her face was slightly red and she was awfully giggly, the whole situation was quite amusing to Zoro since it was rare for her to be even slightly affected by alcohol.

"No Zoro, come with me," She whined when he stopped in front of the dojo, this place was like his second home. He had so many memories in this place.

The sentence she just spoke was an invitation for something more but he was hesitant, "Kuina your father." That wasn't all the reasons, first she was slightly off in the head since the alcohol was intercepting her normally clear thoughts and he didn't know if he was ready yet. He was after all a virgin, not that he would ever tell anyone.

"No, my father's asleep, Zoro you used to sleepover all the time," Kuina was looking at him with her large brown eyes, making Zoro gulp. It was hard to reject those eyes.

But he knew what had to be done. He simply kissed her gently on the forehead and softly whispered, "Maybe another time when you can think more clearly." Kuina's expression was a frown at first then it transformed into an understanding grin.

"Alright, jaa na(see you later)!" Zoro heard the sweet sounds of her laugher before driving away.

* * *

**(Back to the 3rd day)**

Sanji's dream consisted of blurry images and colorful pictures. Also the sounds, yes the sounds, they were so mesmerizing. He thought he saw a bypassing marimo that weirdly had a frowning expression with swords attached to its side but Sanji ignored it as the dream rapidly switched the images.

Somewhere in far distance, he heard yelling, repeating Sanji's name. Even though it was his own name, it strangely sounded so foreign.

"Oi cook! Wake the hell up." He felt stings on his cheeks like someone was slapping him repeatedly. With each hit, he felt the images disperse and the scenes vanish.

"What...the...fuck!" Sanji kicked the person who was abusing his cheeks with such force that they lifted up into the air. The blonde jolted up in shock as the reality crashed in. He opened his eyes just in time to see Zoro about to fall back down, landing on the hard cold floor with a splat.

"Oof, curlybrow what the hell," The swordsman picked himself up leisurely, it took awhile for Sanji to comprehend why this felt so abnormal.

Then the memories rushed back in, making Sanji feel genuinely happy, he honestly didn't believe Zoro would stroll back into his life. He believed that he screwed everything last night. But that wasn't the case. This green haired bastard really came.

But he didn't want the other man to know how glad and relieved he felt. Sanji remained composed with his stoic expression. "Marimo, why are you here?"

Like he was prepared for this question, the other man just murmured, "To keep my promise you idiot, why else?"

But Sanji still didn't understand, "Why? We had a fucking fight yesterday."

"Well we have one like every second, doesn't matter, unless you acknowledge that my punch was strong. Then maybe I'll apologize for it." Zoro responded with his usual smirk.

Sanji frowned, he would've normally argued back with a fierce retort but his mood currently was against it.

He wanted to break down and tear up, it felt like kindness, what this man was doing and Sanji didn't deserve it. He felt even more like an asshole. He turned his body away from the green haired man to hide his expression. "Oi oi cook, not crying are you?" Zoro asked with full sarcasm intended.

Sanji aimed one of his kicks toward the man's head, "Shitty marimo," but Zoro dodged. It seemed that the green haired bastard was getting used to Sanji's unexpected attacks.

"Fuck you blondie, I was just waking you up because you're late for work."

Sanji looked up at the clock to see if he really was late for work, "Shit, I guess I have to fucking skip it and marimo how did you get in here."

"Uh the door was open?" The swordsman replied, scratching his head and avoiding Sanji's blue visible eye.

"You shitty bastard! You left it open last night?" He and Zoro were sparring again. It was so natural, even though they had a fight yesterday, they were fighting again. It was like their way of bonding.

Sanji was bored as hell the whole morning. He called work and told them that he'll be absent from the dojo today.

He made an effort to teach the damn marimo how to make omelet's, Sanji hoped for a high class rated French styled omelet's but his hopes were too high for this hopeless swordsman. He couldn't even batter the eggs without spilling its content everywhere.

At the end, what he earned was some burnt scrambled eggs with random vegetables decorating the top. Sanji was going to eat it of course, he was against wasting food, no matter how shitty it tasted, as long as it was food, he would eat it.

Then Zoro got another call from his girlfriend but this time his emotions were more kept to himself, his expressions and voice were monotonous, presumably because he probably figured out the reason for Sanji's outbursts last night. It was quite embarrassing; he pretended to ignore the phone call as he stared at the TV.

He was watching his favorite cooking show,_ best thing I ever ate_. It was bunch of world class chefs recommending the best thing they have ever tasted depending on the theme. If the recommended food was nearby, Sanji would head over there to judge it himself. He loved tasting other cooks unique flavors; it was a lesson for himself to improve his own cooking.

Today the theme was street food. He recognized the neighborhood that was shown. It was Manhattan. Compared to the food on the television, the thing he was eating looked and tasted like shit.

"Love cook if we're not doing anything, you wanna come with me to meet my friends?" Zoro suddenly asked, zapping Sanji's attention away from the cooking show.

"Kuina? Of course I would like to meet her again," Sanji exclaimed with an over dramatic tone, "Lovely Kuina, unlike shitty marimo."

Zoro frowned at the insult but he chose to not respond to it, "No not Kuina, my other friend Ace and his brother. You talked to him last night and he wants to meet you or some shit like that."

And that was the plan, they headed out and drove to Zoro's friend's house, their conversations consisted of arguments the whole way but they were regular arguments, nothing serious.

They reached a very nice house, scratch that, a mansion, causing Sanji to gape in shock. It was the nicest place he has ever seen and it was only the external part.

"Cook, do you have to be so obvious about it?" Zoro asked as he stared at Sanji's dropped jaw and widened eyes.

After that comment, he merely shook his head and acted natural; chewing on the cigarette he was smoking then responded, "Shut up."

* * *

Ace was overly friendly with his blonde friend, well more like acquaintance, while he completely ignored Zoro. It was irritating to know his old friend being all buddy buddy with someone he just met even though he barely even looked towards Zoro's way.

The blonde however obviously liked the attention he was obtaining. It seemed that they really got along well.

It made Zoro slightly envious, he never really talked to the cook but that was because of his own morals of not butting into other people's business yet this man was talking so freely with his freckled faced friend.

"Aceeeee!" A shout rang through the house. Zoro immediately recognized that childish voice. It was Luffy, "Ace! I'm hungry and bored, let's fight while eating."

The older raven haired man gave himself a face palm, "Luffy, you can't eat while fighting. Just go ask the chef to make your food then we can have a match." Ace's eyes glanced over towards the blonde, "Hey, you good at fighting?"He asked with a slanted grin.

"Hell yeah and Luffy?" The blonde answered then asked in recognition.

Luffy's wide eyes turned towards Sanji in an over joyous expression, "SANJI!" The young man wrapped his legs around the blonde's waist and tackled him causing Sanji to lose his footing. "My favorite cook in the world!"

"Uh Luffy, how do you-" Zoro started out.

"I went to Baratie with Nami before and she introduced me to Sanji, the meals made by him are the best! Sanji are you going to cook for me today? Please!" Luffy whined in his childish tone.

Ace rolled his eyes at his little brother, "Luffy maybe if you get off of him," he told his brother then turned to Sanji again. "How come I've never seen you there? I go to Baratie a lot; their foods are delicious by the way." He asked the blonde before flattering.

The cook smiled at the compliment and spoke while placing the cigarette at the corner of his mouth, "I'm normally in the kitchen, sometimes did waiter shit but I got fired the other day." His eyes traveled towards Zoro and coughed. The green haired man just glowered at the man in response.

Luffy appeared oblivious to everything as he continued to complain about being hungry.

"You said there's a chef?" The blonde asked, causing the raven haired brothers nod simultaneously. The blonde's face lit up into a smile, "Lead me into the kitchen!"

Eventually his whole crew somehow got the word of Sanji being in Ace's house and by the end of the afternoon; they started this sort of a party in the raven haired brothers' house.

The only person missing was Kuina, Zoro felt somewhat guilty about it but Ace reassured him by telling him that she wouldn't like such a wild gathering anyways.

Sanji was getting along with everyone awfully too well. Today, Chopper and Usopp were there unlike the night before at the bar. Usopp, who was an African American guy with a freakishly long nose, was also a liar and a coward but when it came down to it, this man had the bravest soul of all. Zoro respected him as much as everybody else.

He was drinking again, the familiar taste of the toxin was way too delicious, and the slight buzz in the back of his head indicated he drank a lot.

The blonde cook sat right next him on the leather couch, "Your friends are crazy mosshead." His pale face was flushed red; it seemed that Sanji was a lightweight when it came to alcohol.

"It seems you're having fun," Zoro replied, he was truly glad that he and his friends were getting along.

Sanji closed his eyes, "Guess I am," he murmured contently before looking up at Zoro with his dashing blue eyes. "Zoro?"

His heart thumped loudly in his ears, those eyes were enchanting him again and the words started to gurgle inside his mouth, "urh huh?'

"Thanks for coming back," The cook whispered as his eyelids closed, and then his head fell onto Zoro's lap. All of his friends stopped what they were doing to stare at Zoro doing a spit take. The blonde however was undisturbed by the little sprinkle of alcohol on his face.

"Man I thought you weren't gay," Ace cut the silence.

Zoro bewilderedly stared up at him, "I'm not!" He shouted defensively. The cook was already quietly snoring with his lips faintly parted. _He looks so vulnerable_. Then Zoro almost smacked himself for thinking such things, it was weird. He blamed Ace for mentioning the homosexual topic.

"That's it; I'm bringing this curly brow home." He told them as he picked up Sanji. It surprised him again when he felt how light the blonde was then he wondered how this light man contained so much power.

Before heading out the door, he heard a faint yell from none other than Ace, "Don't rape his sweet innocent ass."

Zoro cursed at the man for being so idiotic and obnoxious.

* * *

_This time it was worse than before, he felt his stomach caving in. His body was unnaturally thin, too thin. The pain was no longer there, it felt numb__, and not a single sensation__ could be defined__ any longer__. _

_When he reached for his belly to hush its growling, his heart leaped in dread when nothing was felt except for bones._

_Sanji tried to stand and make the last effort in trying to escape but he knew it was useless; they blocked the last crack he used to free himself. His head became overwhelming dizzy, __causing__ him __to __collapse. _

_The nausea came back again, making Sanji hurl even though there were no contents left for him to vomit with. After few painful fits, his stomach calmed once again, leaving him numb._

_He preferred pain over this numbness, he rather feel something__ other__ than absolutely nothing. He felt empty and void; it was __as if__ he didn't even exist in this world anymore. He felt himself draining away__. D__eath was near__ing__._

_A tear fell out of his eyes, substance he still held after all this time. This feeling was actually peaceful, he wasn't sad at all leaving this cruel world behind, not at all. That's when he closed his eyes, truly believing that it was the end__.__T__he torture he was taking was finally over._

_Over..._

_That was the silent mantra in his head until he heard a loud crash and a shout that sounded so distant, "Don't you dare fucking die on me!" _

_Sanji wanted to ask why, why he wouldn't send Sanji over to the next world willingly. Why he didn't grant Sanji's final wish__ a__nd lastly__,__ why he even cared. But these words couldn't be formed as the insensibility threatened to take over._

_When he awoke, he was in the hospital. The sound of the electrocardiogram, or the heart rate monitor was beeping repeatedly right next to him. _

_He felt his head pounding when he made the slightest movement. That thought brought excitement to Sanji. He could feel his own body again, it was so unfamiliar after being numb for so long. He also felt something else and that was the warmth held in his hands._

_An old man who had wrinkles on his face with an odd braided mustache was sleeping soundly on Sanji's bed; his hand__s__ connected to __the tiny blonde's._

_He recognized this old man__.__H__e was one of the workers of the cruel man who tortured Sanji ruthlessly. This memory brought the young Sanji into a fit__.__H__e snatched his small hands away from this older man's grip lethargically. He tried to get out of the bed but his own body would not listen to him and the needles that pierced through his skin weren't helping much either._

_"Shitty brat__,__why__ are you freaking out for?" The old man asked, Sanji's heart was thumping faster__.__H__e was starting to believe that this man__ had__ healed him just so __the blonde__ could suffer all over again. He wanted to curse at his fate for living, he wished to die, the request was simple so why was he still here?_

_The old man's expression softened at Sanji's own frightened face, "I'm not here to hurt you relax, I swear to you that you will never have to experience that again."_

_Sanji's own cracked voice rang through the room, "How am I supposed to trust you? You're one of my enemies! Why are you even doing this?" He had many questions for this man but the frightened emotion with the questions he held dispersed when he met this old man's honest eyes._

_"I knew your parents, they told me about you, about your dream." Sanji knew what dream this man was talking about, the one everyone believed to be an imaginary place. "It's real, all blue, it's my dream too."_

_Sanji's eyes widened in shock, "Wah-" His abandoned dream that was just mentioned set Sanji's mind into an abyss.__He gave up his dream with his life__ years ago.__B__ut now since his life was handed back to him, could he possibly pick up his dream once again and go for it?_

_The old man stood up__ and from the motion,__ Sanji's mind started to panic, he didn't want to be alone again. His hands unconsciously grabbed the old man's shirt, gripping it tightly until his knuckles started to turn ghostly white._

_"Alright kid, I'll stay." The old man smiled at the younger blonde. Sanji felt himself relaxing again as the drowsiness took over, causing him to black out. He still felt his small hands holding onto the old man's shirt, assuring Sanji that he won't ever be alone again._

* * *

Zoro couldn't leave; the blonde's grip on him was tight, very tight. They wouldn't even budge when the green haired man tried to lift the blonde's fingers one by one. He plopped the blonde onto the bed lightly, the grip of Sanji's hand around Zoro's wrist was certainly immovable.

He also tried many ways to wake Sanji up but none worked. He honestly didn't have a clue as to what to do next.

Zoro sighed as he gave up, he was going to have to sleep over tonight, and there was no way around it.

He placed the blankets on top of Sanji. Why he was being so motherly out of sudden? He truly didn't know.

Then the green haired man crashed down next to the blonde man. He cleared his thoughts to help him sleep faster but faintly, as he drifted away, he felt the Sanji's heated hands connecting with Zoro's own skin and he couldn't help but to think how pleasant and comforting it all felt.

**AN**: Sorry everyone that this took so long, this chapter was kind of hard for me to write. X.X

I'll try my best to allow you readers to see the picture more vividly and just continue to send these chapters out as fast as possible.

And I'm sorry for neglecting to write back to you reviewers and for those who send out reviews anon, you should make an account but it's alright if you don't want to. Just thank you everyone!


	9. Chapter 9

**Friday, 4th day**

Sanji's body was unnaturally hot but it wasn't one those incommodious moments but a consoling one. However, the heavy weight on his chest prevented him from moving freely making the situation slightly uncomfortable.

He flicked his eyelids open to see that the room was remotely dim. But that was only because Sanji bought thick curtains for the windows. He absolutely despised being woken up in the morning with the sun's heavy ray.

He stared at his chest to see what was causing that heavy feeling to realize that it was an arm on top of him. Not just any arm, but Zoro's arm. This certainly did cause an alarm for the blonde since he didn't recall anything from last night, the memories were very faint.

He remembered Ace, Luffy, some other friends of Zoro's, and the alcohol he drank. That was it. That was where his memory halted. He cursed at himself for being such a lightweight.

Then Sanji flushed in realization at the thought of being in bed with a man. But strangely enough, it didn't feel so unpleasant. If it was in the past, he would've been freaking out and kicked the shit out any male sleeping beside him. But maybe because it was Zoro, he didn't feel threatened. The green haired man was the type most would entrust their lives upon, he was that trustable. There had to be an explainable reason for this.

Also, he wasn't feeling upset because the feeling of someone sleeping next to him was so damn soothing.

He didn't remember the dream he had; all he recalled was that pang of emptiness, that hollow feeling. Sanji felt relieved to know that someone was next to him, reassuring him that everything was alright. It gave him comfort and security, not that he needed to be protected by someone else.

Almost silent snores were escaping this green haired man, he held an innocent expression, quite endearing for Sanji.

_No! _He growled out to himself in frustration, this was weird and uncanny. By now he should've been throwing a fit or something because straight men would most certainly find this circumstance more absurd.

He threw the man's arm off him as he stood up to stretch. He felt that emptiness hit him full force again when he abandoned that familiar body heat next to his. _Snap out of it,_ he told himself.

Sanji flexed his hands to feel that there was no pain in it anymore, he was known for healing faster than an average person would.

He decided to cook this time, no more shitty food made by a certain marimo bastard. This time, he would taste his own high class meals once again. And the thought of cooking, for being deprived of it for a while, it sent flutters of excitement and anticipation to his stomach.

And unlike yesterday where he felt being lazy and sluggish. Today, he felt energetic and content. He thanked the nice peaceful sleep he had.

In other nights, most nights, he would wake up in middle of the night for absolutely no reason at all, sweating and feeling suffocated. But last night, it was so soothing, not once did he wake up. He couldn't help but think this green haired man had something to do with it.

Maybe just maybe, what he was thinking currently was bizarre but maybe he could invite Zoro more often. After all, it wouldn't be so wrong if they just slept, right? However, he couldn't help but to think of the green haired man's opinion on this matter, what if he took it the wrong way?

Sanji groaned for thinking such complexities in the morning when he could hardly recall anything from last night.

He strolled off into the kitchen, cooking always helped him forget, to clear his mind. It was his joy and pride. As Zoro slid off Sanji's mind, he began to wonder what would be a good meal to start off this wonderful day.

* * *

The delicious scent was what awoke him. It was quite a nice way to wake actually. Even though he was awake, he didn't want to fully get up yet. Zoro stayed in his half conscious state until his stomach rumbled in hunger.

The blonde's bed was comforting, but what gave him serenity at night was the presence of the cook next to him and that grip which sent electrifying heat towards Zoro.

Zoro vaguely recalled experimentally wrapping himself around Sanji in middle of the night because the cook was so damn warm when the air around them were frigid but since Zoro did not obtain fresh bruises, that was all probably part of his delirious dream.

He unconsciously rubbed his muscular stomach as he walked out of the bedroom and into the kitchen.

The first thing he saw was a blonde haired idiot in his messy morning state, wearing a bright pink apron with words 'kiss the cook' printed out across. The cook was spinning and humming to himself as his hands rapidly did multiple tasks.

He didn't even notice Zoro standing at the entrance of the kitchen, just like Kuina when she trained, they were so focused that the background blurred out for them. Which Zoro could not relate to since his training was to focus on all things that were happening, not just on one specific action.

Zoro decided to leave the blonde to his cooking for now. He walked towards the large window near the couch, dragging himself barefooted on the hard wooden floor. Then he plopped down and meditated, it was his normal morning routine and he wasn't about to break it just because he was at someone else's house.

Not even a minute passed by before Sanji interrupted. Well it wasn't really interruption since the cook was just sitting there watching him but it was irritating to be observed during a meditation.

"What the fuck do you want cook?" Zoro asked knowing the answer and kept his eyes shut.

"Food's ready asshole," the blonde responded in a suave manner, then the sound of his breath doing a heavy intake and an outtake was heard, the sound of him smoking.

He could imagine the blonde's eyes closed, prohibiting his clear blue eyes which were probably lighter than usual, from sight and his red lips holding up the tiny toxin stick firmly with his teeth. And his pose would be badass as always. His head slightly tilt back like he's in some type of ecstasy and one of his hands would be roughly going through his hair while the other rested right next to him, and his legs would be stretched out in front of him. His lean yet power compacted legs.

Yes, Zoro could imagine this oh so vividly.

"Curly cook," he mumbled out as he opened his eyes to make sure his vision was correct.

And it was. That was the scary part.

"Mosshead, the food's ready," Sanji repeated as he expelled the smoke out of his puckered mouth.

The green haired man stood up and lightly ran towards the table. "I heard you," he grumbled, trying to not show that tang of excitement when he saw the table. The scent was absolutely amazing; the colorful breakfast filling up the table appeared so appetizing.

_This would be heaven for Luffy, too bad he's not here to enjoy this._

"It looks pretty good I guess," Zoro complemented the cook, his words came out unclear and was almost incomprehensible but he knew the cook heard it because he had that arrogant grin plastered on his face.

"Did you say something moss?" Sanji asked teasingly as he sat in front of Zoro, watching his expression carefully.

"I take it back cook."

Zoro was anticipating for this meal so he accidentally shouted out, "itadakimasu(Let's eat)" before digging in hungrily.

At the first bite, Zoro already figured this was the best thing he has ever tasted. He didn't even know what he was eating but it was so damn delicious, the explosion of the taste and the way it melted at the end, it was nothing like the regular meals he usually had. It felt as if he took a trip on the high road and came back.

"Like it marimo?" The blonde asked. His smile was taking over his face, making him look innocent and childish even with the cigarette hanging at the edge of his lips.

_Yes, it's fucking delicious, _but he wouldn't say that out loud. Instead his response was, "It's above average."

Sanji seemed pretty satisfied with the answer.

Then Zoro remembered something, "Oi, are you sure your hands are alright?" If this idiot cook injured his hands further, there was a possibility of the week turning into months. At least that was his excuse for asking this question. He was perhaps, just a possibility, slightly concerned.

As he expected, the blonde appeared quite surprised by this question. Zoro was about to defend himself and argue with the cook but Sanji interrupted before he could. "Yeah marimo, this little shit isn't going to stop me from cooking." He replied coolly with a slight simper on his face.

It was pretty admirable to hear that. Most people out there who knows the consequences of their injuries would just sit tight in their homes and relax but the blonde was gutless and Zoro exactly knew how convincing Chopper was when it came to anything medical. But again, Zoro kept all these thoughts to himself. He just snorted as a response to the blonde.

"So, what happened yesterday?' The cook questioned after few minutes of silence.

"Uh, you passed out so I took you home?" For some reason Zoro began to feel anxious, which was certainly odd since he barely cared about anything.

The blonde's eyebrow rose, "And why did you stay?"

"I was tired," Zoro lied. He didn't know why he lied but for some reason it felt necessary.

The blonde's eyebrow rose further as his blue pupils widened, "Why on my bed?"

_Shit, _Zoro didn't know what to say, he obviously didn't think this through and he was awful with creating lies on spot. The safe answer was the truth and that was exactly what he went for, "Well curly cook, you kind of grabbed me on the wrist and I couldn't get your grip off me so I just stayed on your bed. I know you're all prissy and all but I just slept there so don't get all defensive or anything."

The blonde's expression was indecipherable, unpredictable, and mystifying. "Calm your shit marimo, I get it." He waved his hands dismissively as if to brush off the excuses Zoro just declared.

"Oh," The green haired man replied lamely.

Then the blonde all of a sudden appeared uneasy. "Actually, this is going to sound strange but it actually relaxed me to have someone next to me. So," Sanji fiddled with his cigarette that was already half way through. "So..." His eyes kept flickering around nervously.

"What?" Zoro asked. This was certainly strange. _Was the curly brow nervous?_

"Ah never mind."

Now the curiosity was far too deep for Zoro to back down, he wanted to hear it, "Just say it cook."

"Fine fine, I'm just saying you can sleep over more if you want to since it calms me at night." The blonde finally said, he seemed awfully flustered from this disclosure.

It wasn't such a big deal, Zoro didn't see why it was so hard to get out, "Sure whatever." He answered the blonde with a casual voice.

"Really?" Sanji held that innocent look again, that expression which the green haired man didn't mind seeing at all. That sheer innocent happiness.

It should've been Zoro jumping around in joy. He would get to taste this delicious food every single time he slept over and the bed the blonde owned was fairly comfortable. It felt like a better deal for him than for the cook. "Yeah" and with that Zoro ate in silence.

The blonde ignored the tasteless response as he started getting ready. About twenty minutes spent in the bathroom trying to groom himself and another twenty minutes in his room figuring out what clothes to wear.

Zoro decided to clean up the table and wash the dishes while waiting for Sanji. It was a repayment for that delicious and filling meal he had in years.

* * *

The kids at the dojo greeted Zoro with much respect as they had for Sanji, for their power and strength.

It was considerably surprising to know that this green haired oaf was actually gentle with children, a softy for younger ones. Even though his rudeness was still there, there was that amiable expression on his face, an expression that was never shown directly towards Sanji. For some reason, that realization brought gloom to the blonde's emotions.

The feelings were confusing, before he could think much of it, the kids distracted him. They asked for some secret techniques on beat Zoro. At the strange question, Sanji looked around to see that Zoro was fighting against all the kids at once. Absolutely no mercy were shown, the man was a beast, throwing children everywhere.

Sanji groaned, this was disastrous and he snapped when Zoro threw the girls as well. No one could treat women in such harsh ways, even if they were young. "Oi oi! Marimo, don't you fucking throw the ladies you brute." He growled.

Zoro glared at him because the children stopped attacking at the recognition of the vile word Sanji just used and the blonde felt repentant immediately. The green haired man did not respond, the one who did was one of his students who happened to be a female.

"Mr. Blackleg, in full honor and respect, I have a problem with the way you treat us girls. I want to become stronger and I don't think that's possible with the way you treat us. I want to beat the guys. Is it because I'm weaker than the boys that you won't teach us fairly?" Her voice slightly quivered at the end making Sanji's heart jump out at the thought of emotionally harming a lady.

Certainly, this was not the reason why Sanji treated them differently. It was just that he had a deep respect toward women. No matter what size.

For one, a woman was the reason for how he was brought into this world, his mother had gone through long painful months to take care and raise him. And two, women constantly lived in fear of men for obvious reasons such as rape, abuse, etc and he didn't want to _ever _have them feel threatened near him. But he didn't believe that anyone could understand it fully by simply hearing it from his lips.

Sanji walked over to her and patted her head then slightly ruffled her curly light brown hair, "Of course not, if that's your wish, I shall fulfill it." He told her tenderly.

The girl smiled in excitement at the response and it immensely lightened up the blonde's mood.

The green haired man all of a sudden grinned towards Sanji as he said, "Hey let's make a demonstration for the kids so they can see who's stronger."

"You sure you don't need any swords, I heard there's some extra in the kendo room?" The blonde responded, their cockiness was what they were best at.

"Bastard," the green haired man growled out before attacking.

This man was one of the few people that Sanji could fully unleash his power towards. While Zoro had the advantage with his upper body, Sanji had his with his legs. Their fights were always intense yet playful. It was one of the most favorable traits of this man.

* * *

"Idiot cook"

"Shitty marimo"

The kids already left but they were still fighting. Both of them were heaving heavily and the amount of sweat beads pouring down their foreheads was immense, which was unnatural since they both owned an immeasurable amount of stamina.

Zoro furiously glared at the blonde but clandestinely, he was having fun. He loved fights especially against strong ones and Sanji definitely passed his definition of strong. Plus this man was admirable and gutless, another trait Zoro liked about the blonde even if he could be annoying and obnoxious.

A leg swung upwards aiming for Zoro's jaw but instead of dodging, he caught the blonde's foot when he felt a presence of someone familiar nearing them. "Hello gentlemen."

Law had his usual sadistic grin as his words pierced the air. The playtime between Zoro and Sanji was over.

The blonde took out one of his cigarettes and Zoro figured that this man smoked at the most unusual times, like right before a fight, which was what it felt like at the moment.

"Do you have any business with me?" The green haired man asked the obsidian eyed man, no hint of vexation in his words yet. Even if this man was a nuisance, he was still Zoro's important partner.

Law took off his white furred hat that had brown splotches all over then his eyes turned serious, "Well Mr. I mean Zoro. Our boss just called saying we have to work tonight. He was quite furious the other day because of your mistake."

Sanji glanced at both of them. The words were slightly coded so it wouldn't sound so strange for the blonde but the nosy man couldn't keep his nose out of Zoro's business... Again "What are you talking about? You guys work together? Is this the night job you were talking about before? I demand some answers assholes."

"Oh I see that you haven't told our little friend anything, that's better, keeping him safe I see. I never expected to see such a gentle side to the usual demon I perceive." Law said in a sarcastic tone then slightly chuckled.

"Fuck you don't call me little," Sanji argued back threateningly, his grey cigarette smoke covering the air above them.

The green haired man could tell that the blonde was getting impatient and infuriated from not having a single clue to a situation. "If that's it then you can leave," Zoro demanded to his partner as he heaved a heavy sigh.

Trafalgar Law placed the hat back on his head as he turned to leave, the two golden earrings on each side of his ears flashed before he entered the dim hallway once again. The man left an unexplainable situation and a demanding blonde behind, leaving Zoro clueless as to what to do next.

But unexpectedly, the blonde said. "I know I know, mind your own business, I get it. I won't ask." He gave up promptly when Zoro gave him a somewhat guilty look. "But" The blonde suddenly yelled, "For that, I can ask more questions about other things, correct?"

Zoro grumbled, "Never said that, idiot blonde, leashing me around." But just like Kuina, the blonde had a certain charm that he could not refuse, "but fine." He agreed.

At first the questions were simple such as "What's your favorite color?" or "How old are you?" or "What's your ethnicity?" Which Zoro answered with no hesitations, "green, 21, half Japanese and half Irish."

Zoro faintly chuckled at the thought of his ethnicity because his high tolerance towards alcohol most likely came from his Irish side.

But soon the questions began to develop among his personal sides which Zoro wasn't able to answer as freely. It made him feel uncomfortable of somewhat, he didn't like revealing much of anything to another person, it made him feel weak and vulnerable and Zoro was none of that.

They were having lunch at an Italian restaurant that the blonde recommended before. The names were difficult to pronounce so he allowed Sanji to order for him. The food wasn't as scrumptious as Sanji's but it was still better as well as healthier opposed to what he generally ate.

"So, tell me about you and Kuina," The blonde have been trying this question for awhile now. Small creases were appearing near his eyebrows from dissatisfaction which Zoro thought was hilarious.

"What's there to say?" A tiny smirk played out on his face unintentionally.

Sanji's creases deepened, "Shitty marimo, you're messing with me!" He held his fork up ostentatiously.

The smirk on the green haired man's face became bigger, "What are you talking about eyebrows?" His voice came out with full mockery

"Oi! Don't call me that, fine you can avoid this question bastard, but I'll get you." He warned then whispered, "_Someday_," dramatic and promisingly.

Zoro waved his own fork dismissively, "Sure sure," it sure was fun teasing this cook.

"Ok! So, what's your dream?"The blonde out of the blue asked once more. This was like his thirtieth question thus far but Zoro wasn't tired out yet.

"Uh you mean like a job career?"Of course his dream was to be the greatest swordsman in the world but that sounded pretty outdated and he wasn't too sure about telling the blonde cook about it.

The blonde exaggeratedly breathed out, possibly thinking of Zoro as a dimwit. "No like a dream, you have one don't you? I mean, you do swordsmanship. Is your goal beating Kuina or is it something more?"

The blonde was becoming nosy again which slightly irritated Zoro, "I want to become the greatest swordsman in the world and beating Kuina is just part of that," he answered with a stiff tone.

"How are you going to do that? I'm sure there are sword competitions and stuff but I doubt you're that kind of guy."

This topic was getting too deep, he wanted to stay on the edge but it was impossible with the blonde snooping around. "I'm trying to find this guy named Dracule Mihawk, he's the greatest swordsman in the world."

"Mihawk... Shit, that name sounds so familiar." The blonde's eyebrows were scrunched up as if thinking about something intensely.

This comment shined a ray of hope to Zoro. Just maybe, this blonde might be able to help him meet this man, the greatest swordsman. "What? You know him? How? Where?" His eyes were large and filled with excitement as he stared in the direction of the cook's surprised visible eye.

"Oi, I said familiar, I could've just heard the name from somewhere," the blonde protested as he waved his hands in front of him.

Zoro's hopes crashed down and he felt stupid for raising his expectations, "Oh"

After that, the blonde reserved the conversation on a less personal level which was fine with the green haired man. "Oi cook, where do we go now?" Zoro asked the blonde when they started walking around aimlessly. As he asked the question, his phone in his pocket started to vibrate.

"I don't know, I actually started heading towards Baratie but since I don't work there anymore, I guess I'm going home. You can follow if you want" The blonde suggested.

The green haired man unlocked his phone to see a text message, '_Hey Zoro, I'm bored, come to the dojo!__'_ The text was from Kuina.

Sanji looked over in inquisitiveness but Zoro quickly turned his phone off in annoyance by the blonde's nosiness. The green haired man then said, "Uh, if we have nothing to do, I have an idea."

Zoro actually wanted to see Kuina again and he didn't like the thought of ditching the blonde. Sanji nodded in response as they started heading upstate of New York where Kuina lived.

* * *

At first Kuina treated him foreign, slight awkwardness radiated off of her but eventually the situation became easier to handle as Sanji controlled himself a bit more.

In this case, self control was the key and his past plan of taking Kuina away from Zoro was long gone. As much as he hated admitting it, Zoro was a better man for Kuina than him.

Even if his hands have healed, he didn't want the green haired man to leave yet. The blonde wanted the other man to believe he was still handicapped and needed his aid. Not because he actually needed the help but because he just liked this man's company. Zoro was like a friend he never really had and a great sparring partner.

Speaking of sparring, Zoro and Kuina were against one another. It was quite mesmerizing to see two amazing swordsmen fight. Both of them held a certain unique technique. While Kuina cautiously snaked around the green haired man to land a hit, Zoro just used sheer force to break through.

Sanji was like in between both of the techniques. He used speed and power against his opponents, he never used just one.

After the battle, Kuina started walking towards Sanji, her clothes were awfully loose on her and the sweat all over her body made her skin gleam under the light. It was quite a sexy appearance, an appearance that Sanji would normally go crazy about but for some reason, he felt slightly indifferent about it today. "Sanji, I heard from Zoro that you can fight pretty well."

"Hey, I just said the blonde and I fight a lot!" The green haired man called out defensively behind her.

"Well, anyone who can hold against you must be good!" She shouted back towards Zoro who was currently downing his water bottle. Kuina then turned back with a grin on her face, "So, how about it?"

His heart skipped a beat and his pulse started to speed up. In his mind, it was telling him to get over his girl protecting morals because women did not like that.

But he just couldn't. All of his life, he was taught to never raise his legs against a woman and he was going to keep it this way. "Sorry Miss Kuina, I'm not feeling that well at the moment."It felt horrible to lie but if he told her the truth, it would hurt her pride and he believed that was worse.

"Aw, that's ok, maybe next time," she responded.

Sanji's eyes traveled unintentionally towards the green haired man who was staring at him with those hazel eyes. It was impossible to read what he was thinking.

The day traveled flowingly and speedily. While Zoro and Kuina continued to fight another, the blonde took this chance to travel around the dojo.

This place was just like some places he saw in Japan, beautiful, graceful, and it brought out the beauties of the nature. There was a small pond next to the dojo and a cherry blossom tree which were not bloomed. He squatted and stared at the golden fishes swimming around the pond.

"I don't believe I know you," a voice spoke behind him which caused Sanji to turn around alertly.

A tall Japanese man with a grey dojo outfit was standing behind him. His arms were crossed and his eyes that were behind round glasses stared down at Sanji. The expression on his face was kind and gentle.

"Oh sorry sir, I'm Zoro's friend and I just took a walk by myself because this place is so beautiful. It reminds me of Japan." He admitted honestly with good manners.

"Well, I certainly was going for that," the man chuckled a bit, "My name is Koshiro, Zoro never brought his friends over before. You are a first." Koshiro told the blonde as he plopped down next to the blonde.

"I'm Sanji," He stretched his hands out to shake the older man's. "Are you Zoro's father?" The blonde asked cautiously. Since he found out Zoro was part Japanese, it would make sense but Kuina was the one living here.

"No," Koshiro responded as he laughed a bit more, "I'm Kuina's father, Zoro is just a boy who lived here most of his life, I guess he would be my son in law soon,"

Sanji forced a laugher but it came out melancholic. To cover it up, he asked another question, "What happened to his parents?"

The older man's face slightly darkened, "I'm afraid that you have to ask Zoro himself." The blonde did not bring that subject up for a second time but he did continue asking about Zoro and Kuina.

He found out that they were childhood friends. Koshiro basically told him the exact same thing Zoro told except much more detailed, how he trained unbelievably and unrelentingly to beat Kuina and to become the greatest swordsman in the world.

Their conversations lasted until nightfall, this man was awfully easy going and nice to talk to. Sanji actually didn't even realize it was dark out until Zoro came for him.

"Cook let's go."

Sanji simply dipped his head, a slight bow, as a sign of respect and a goodbye gesture towards Koshiro before leaving.

In the older man's eyes, comprehension was shown towards the blonde. Even though Koshiro was the one who mostly talked, Sanji felt as if he exposed himself more to this man.

"I see that you have met my sensei." Zoro pointed out through the silence that was hanging above the air back in his black convertible.

The blonde nodded. He wasn't too sure that the green haired man saw his nod because of the darkness that was surrounding them which also shadowed their expressions but he was too tired to speak. So he simply remained hushed.

"So, I'll just drop you off because I have to work tonight." The green haired man muttered. The blonde could tell that Zoro was exhausted by his weary voice. "You said I could take your offer of sleeping at your house right? So can I go after work tonight?"

Sanji was actually hoping for that, his chest lightened at the thought of having someone accompanying him at night once more. "Mmm," he mumbled.

"I might awake you though." This thoughtful side of this man infrequently came out and when it did, it touched Sanji's heart. Throughout his whole entire life, he rarely had anyone's kindness. This kindness that he repeatedly received from Zoro was extraterrestrial to him.

His voice managed to croak out, "It's alright." After that, Sanji had a mini nap inside the car; he was in that state of mind where he was asleep yet aware of everything around him.

And when Zoro shook him awake, he quickly got out and walked inside his apartment like he was set on automatic pilot.

* * *

Zoro drove to his usual place, his workplace. And as always, Law was in the parking lot, waiting for him but his usual sadistic grin wasn't there, instead he appeared grim. "Mr. 1, you're finally here, as you see, our boss has work for us."

Law handed him a paper that held neat cursive letters that described what was to be done next. After a quick scan, Zoro ripped the papers up and threw the small pieces away. "Let's get this over with."

Today's job was to blackmail some old men who refused to pay up to his boss. It was easy to finish since all they needed was a little push with the tip of Zoro's blade.

His partner, as always, did not do anything. He just stood by and watched but this was how they acquired teamwork. Zoro did the dirty work as Law did the brain work. They made a nice team in a strange way which was the reason why his boss set them up together.

Even though the task was easy, it still took time. He finished around 4 A.M. and he was exhausted. Law being insomniac, he seemed unaffected by the lack of sleep. And after reporting everything back to his boss and the boss' partner, Zoro was finally free to go, back to the blonde's bed which he longed for.

When Zoro and his partner were left alone, they did not share a single conversation. Neither of them talked because talking about yourself showed vulnerability especially when you were in this organization. So, they remained silent.

Even though they have been together for many years, they barely knew a single thing about another.

Few friends of Zoro's knew about his relations with this illegal organization. It wasn't as if he didn't trust them or anything but if his boss was ever to find out, he would track them to end their life. Zoro did not want to risk anyone's safety especially those close to him.

_"Roronoa Zoro, I heard about your achievements and your dreams__. I heard__ that you'__ve been__ looking for Mihawk__.__I__f you join me, I can help you find him__, __you'll be very useful to me. Of course, I'll be paying you__ as well, but don't expect much__. It's a win win for both of us__ so how about it?__" A large man with a scar across his face and a cigar held inside his mouth soothingly __asked__ Zoro. _

_The offer was__ extremely__ tempting because throughout his life, he never __acquired__any type of__ clue as to where Mihawk could be. This was the only lead he obtained__ so far. However, __he wasn't about to __agree__ without knowing the price for this knowledge._

"_What do I have to do?" He asked the man. At the time, he just turned twenty and was still in a rivalry relationship with Kuina. _

_The man ran his hand across his sleek black hair, p__ressing__ the already pushed back hair then letting loose strands hang over his face. "Oh just simple chores really, the more you climb ranks, the higher position you'll have in my future 'perfect world.' Right now, I'm a bit astounded by your__ raw__ power but I'm not too sure where to rank you."_

"_I don't care about your world, my only goal is to find Mihawk and what does it matter having ranks. All I need is to help you right?" Zoro retorted fiercely._

_Through __the other man's__ mouth, a cloud of smoke appeared as his cigar burned at the edge. "Other than what I just offered, you earn more money as well as less work__ if you're high in the rank__. It works strangely but that's my proposition. But of course__,__ to climb the ranks, you have to knock down the ones who are currently in it."_

_Zoro smirked at the thought, "Who's in the position right under you?"_

_The man let out a strange laugher, his expression became even more frightening with the strange curls at the corners of his lips. "Interesting, you're asking__ me__ for Mr.1's position and you haven't even joined yet. If I didn't have anything to offer, would you have taken my position as the boss?"_

"_I would," he answered, the cocky smile remain__ing__upon__ his face._

_The laughers stopped, even though his face still held a grin, it was empty, the joke was no longer there. His other hand was lifted near his mouth but it wasn't a hand, it was a hook, a golden hook that glimmered in the light. "If you can beat my current Mr.1, I'll hand the position over to you. Farewell new agent of mine." As he turned, his furred coat that was hanging on his shoulders swung. And just like the sand quickly dispersing in__to__ the wind, the man vanished._

Zoro remembered that day like it was yesterday. The offer was coming to an end finally; soon he will be the greatest swordsman in the world. Of course after he does, Kuina would have to verse him for the title.

His legs headed towards the blonde's apartment and unexpectedly, the door was open. Zoro took off his shoes and headed inside the bedroom where Sanji was but before going in, he heard screams, wheezes, and moans.

_C__ook?_

With this questioning thought, the green haired man barged in and half expected the blonde to be on the floor having a medical attack, but instead Sanji was lying on the bed throwing a tantrum. His legs and arms were swinging around in wild directions, hitting nowhere in particular.

"Curly brow!" Zoro yelled as he headed for the blonde.

Sanji had his eyes closed but he was acting as if someone was attacking him. Instead of fighting ferociously like he usually did, the blonde was slightly cowering and whimpering as his limbs swung in random direction. "G-Go away," The blonde whispered out, his face and voice appearing and sounding incredibly frightened.

Zoro couldn't get near the blonde. He didn't want to risk getting hit by one of the wild swinging limbs. "Sanji," he shouted a little louder to get the man's attention but it didn't work.

The fatigue slowed down Zoro's movements but he still had a good amount of speed. He rapidly reached out to grab one of the blonde's arms. And from that touch, Sanji immediately stilled, his expression was once more calm and at serenity. He wasn't making desperate noises to any further extent.

Zoro kept his hand around the man's arm as he got on top of the bed.

Like an instinct, he wrapped his arms around the slender man protectively. He wondered what just happened because that was not a typical nightmare. The green haired man also wondered if this was the reason why Sanji wanted to have a companion at night.

His hands reached up towards the cook's face and his fingers brushed the blonde strands out of his eyes to keep it from sticking to his sweat beaded face.

Sanji was completely calm now, he was even breathing evenly to reassure Zoro.

Zoro always thought of this man as a spoiled child who was too hot headed for his own good but what just happened made him realize that Sanji suffered in the past, a trauma that was too deep for him to just simply forget, a scar that lingered firmly across his heart.

It suddenly made him feel protective of this man. He didn't want Sanji to suffer anymore.

His chin rested on top of Sanji's head and the blonde's head was buried into his chest. He snaked his arm under Sanji's head so the cook could use it as a pillow while his other arm rested on top of Sanji. Their bodies molded together like two puzzle pieces that were meant to fit.

Zoro continued to rake his fingers through the blonde hair as Sanji's head persistently snuggled closer to his chest.

The scent coming from Sanji was delicious. He smelt of strawberries, strong spices, and tobacco. It was pretty intoxicating and it helped Zoro relax into his own deep slumber.

**AN:** Yes everyone, as most of you probably already expected, Zoro is in a secret organization but he's not an assassin. He's more like a dog to Crocodile.

And sorry for slightly messing that up, I completely forgot that the agents didn't know the boss's face. But it's alright~ I'll make it work somehow.

Hope you guys liked the fluffy snuggling at the end and thank you for all of your wonderful reviews. You guys are truly amazing yourselves ^^


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: **Let's start progressing on this romance! It will shift to a newer level :p. And thank you for the great reviews everyone. And also, just to warn you, this story is not going to end on the 7th day, it'll continue afterwards so it might take awhile for this story to finish. Ok, sorry for keeping you, here ya go!

**Saturday, 5****th**** day**

_Bathump… Bathump… Bathump…_

A steady rhythm of someone's beating heart was all the blonde heard as he slept. The sounds kept him relaxed. It was a sign assuring Sanji that everything is and will be fine. It was the sound that he enjoyed hearing repeatedly.

And when he awoke, he stayed in place.

_Why move_? It was a Saturday and there was no work available to him today. Saturdays were usually for his full time shift as a sous chef at Baratie but since he was no longer employed at the place, nothing was on his schedule.

He knew that the person next to him was marimo but currently he didn't give a shit. The person was a man, so what? They were snuggling against another but that was only for body comfort and for heat that was lacking in this room, right?

Even if it felt skeptical, he really didn't see the point in moving about if he felt so comfortable next to this swordsman. With that thought, he peacefully laid there but that was until he heard a ring-tone. A tone he recognized right away.

"_Beauty queen of only 18, she had_ _some trouble with herself. He was always there to help her; she always belonged to someone else…_."

A lump formed within Sanji's throat. He fumbled out of the green haired man's grip who was currently undisturbed by the loud ringtone as the blonde reached for his phone on top of his dresser.

For the last few days, he had completely forgotten about his dear Nami-san with the help of his green friend. And now that she was calling him, everything was brought back with full force. The pain of having a one-sided love and the betrayal he felt when she put him down for Sebastian.

"Nami-san!" He said excitedly even if he wasn't feeling such at the moment.

"Sanji," The voice was trembling. Sanji immediately recognized this type of voice, he heard it many times in the past.

Memories flooded back. During prom, her date ditched her for another girl and Nami started to tear. Her makeup dripped down onto her beautiful white dress, making the situation worse. Of course at the end of the night, Sanji came to the rescue by pretending to be her date and letting her borrow his jacket to cover the stains.

Then his earlier memories struck him, that time when Nami-san's mother died. That was the most horrendous period for his red headed friend and that was the first time he had ever seen her cry. Before that event, she always acted as this tough tomboy who created trouble for everyone and Sanji recalled himself slightly loathing her. But when she broke down in front of him, he suddenly felt this longing to protect her and to be there for her. That was probably the first time he felt this unavoidable attraction for her.

His voice came out crusty and void, "What's wrong love?"

"S-Sebastian broke up with me. He said that I'm not the one." She was hiccuping between each word and he heard sniffles after the sentence. "I'm sorry to be a bother but Sanji, you're the only one whom I could talk with."

"That's what best friends are for right?" He put on a sad smile even if no one was there to see it.

A small giggle broke through in the midst of wet sounding sniffles. That was what Sanji was there for, create happiness for his ladies and give them a reason to laugh even if it costed him his own happiness. "Sanji, I'm so glad that you're my friend." She chuckled some more but this time it sounded more cheerful.

_Friend… Friend… Friend… _This word still affected him after all this time.

"Do you want to come to my house today? I don't have work and we can catch up since we haven't hung out in awhile." He suggested and he really did want to see his beautiful orange haired friend. Of course, he completely forgot about the green haired man still sleeping thorough the conversation soundly.

"I love to Sanji! I'll be there soon." The conversation ended with a click, it left Sanji feeling empty as ever and disheartened. His heart ached yet he felt so indifferent about the chance he obtained again. Because _she will never step out of the friend zone between us. _

And Sanji was not going to be the one who risks everything just to get rejected. He valued the friendship that grew over the years way too much. Just because of his uncontrollable feelings, he wasn't going to ruin such a valuable relation.

As much as he wanted to jump back onto his bed and have a comforting day, he now had an appointment with the most beautiful woman in the world. He brushed his teeth and hair harshly, making his gums to bleed and causing some of his blonde strands to fall out.

He also felt more incisive on what to wear. But at the end, he went for casual since it was after all, his own house and it would be plain bizarre to be wearing a tuxedo inside your own house.

When he heard the light knocks that had to be Nami, he shouted, "Coming!" enthusiastically.

"Sanji-kun," Nami responded with a heartening smile but her eyes were pitched red and so were the rims of her eyes. She definitely had been crying.

Just like him, she was wearing very casual clothes, T-shirts and jeans. Sanji leaned over to give her the usual peck on her soft supple hand which surprisingly was not dejected. Usually, she would smack him on the head but today she accepted it, a very strange circumstance indeed.

"Sanji-kun, we haven't talked in awhile," She spoke as Sanji gently lifted her coat off her shoulders to hang it around the coat hanger. Her fragrance was flowery today, probably some high class perfume that she stole.

"We can make it up today," He suggested as he led her towards the kitchen table where she sat comfortably. "Ah just a minute, I shall cook for you." Sanji said and his hands reached for the necessary cooking utensils and ingredients.

Nami chuckled as her cheek rested on her palm, "Good thing I didn't eat my breakfast today."

"Nami-san, you have to eat regularly or you'll earn health issues again," he scolded the red haired woman because in the past, she had money issues which led to anorexia. She had to go to the hospital and when Sanji found out; he went to her house just to cook for her every single day.

One of the reasons he was so inspired to cook healthily was thanks to Nami-san. He wanted her to recover sooner so he improved his cooking into a healthier version that was still delicious.

Nami gave him one of her adorable frowns, "Hey! I do eat regularly now. It's just that I like your cooking the best."

The blonde gave her his wide smiles. Compliments on his cooking always raised his mood. "Thank you Nami-san, do you love me now?" He asked sarcastically as his hips swished from side to side as he created a heart with his hands.

He expected a slap to the face or maybe a crude comment back but instead she gave him one of her grins, "You're so silly Sanji." _  
_

"So Nami-san, do you want to talk about what happened?" He asked hesitantly to change the subject. He reached inside his pockets to pull out his pack of cigarettes since his mouth was feeling bored.

"There's really nothing to talk about, it was just a small fling and I really _really_ thought he was the one, you know? Then I find out he was just using me to make his ex-girlfriend jealous and I just broke down." Nami stopped for a bit, her eyes were threatening to water again, "I-I'm always being used. Whether it's for sex or just to show off, it's just so tiring, and it makes me wonder if something is wrong with me."

Sanji looked at her in shock, "If there's anything wrong with someone, it's those bastards who dumped you, not you. Anyone who had the idiocy to ditch you are the stupid ones." He spat the last words out, those who had the guts to dump his beautiful Nami were inevitably going to pay the next time he ever saw them again.

"I think this is why you're my best friend," Nami was grinning fully, that naive look he only obtained when she was truly happy. It was such a reward. "What about you Sanji?" She suddenly asked with inquisitiveness.

Sanji was confused as to what she was asking, "Hm?" He pushed back his blonde hair that was in front of his eyes, "What do you mean Nami-san?"

"I mean, do you have anyone you're interested in at the moment?" She suddenly had that interest in her eyes. The look that was usually shown towards money but this time it was on him.

His face inadvertently flushed, he was not ready to confess to her yet. "Sanji, you're blushing!" Nami cried out from delight, "Who is it? Is it someone I know?"

Her insistence was strong as ever and Sanji didn't want to be dishonest to her but he had no other choice. "I don't have anyone I like; I'm currently single in mind and body."

_Complete lie, you're such a bastard _he told himself. Even If the lie came out effortlessly and smoothly, the redness resting upon his cheeks refused to go away.

"Oh come on Sanji, you really can't expect me to believe that. You always had someone you like, remember in the past, when you secretively told me all your crushes and I tried to help you get them." She was reminiscing the past, her grin was still there. Despite making a woman happy, Sanji really didn't feel such himself.

He knew what she was talking about. Of course in the past, he continuously made up these crushes and pretended to like them. Then unexpectedly, Nami would try to hook them up behind his back, it usually ended up as an awkward situation and to him, they were not very enjoyable memories. "Of course I remember and I'm telling you, I have no one in my life right now."

He had finished making breakfast, it included a small amount of dosa(with wet chutney and sugar on the side), two sunny side up eggs, and some crispy fattening bacon on the side. To finish off the meal, he cut up some variety of fruits such as strawberries, apples, and papayas. This was the healthiest meal he came up with at the top of his head. And before serving it, he decorated the plate to make it more appetizing and appeasing to one's eyes.

"Oh my, that looks so delicious Sanji-kun and I'll believe you for now, if you're lying, I'll find out soon anyways." She smirked at the end as she energetically picked up her fork. "It's so good Sanji!" She commented upon the breakfast the cook made for her.

Sanji put on one of his goofy lovey dovey smiles, "Ah Nami-san, my love for you is so great that my heart feels as if it's bursting!" He said a little too exaggerative as his hands motioned his heart exploding.

Then a loud yawn interrupted his flirtations.

When Sanji turned his head to see who it was, the green haired marimo stood near them looking irksome as always. After the yawn, his lips turned into a pout and his eyes slightly watered. Through those pouting lips, his grumpy words came after, "Where's food, I'm hungry."

Zoro was unaware of Nami-san who was currently staring at him with shock or maybe he did realize but was just paying zero attention toward her.

"Sanji? Did he just come out of your room?" Nami asked, the revelation of the situation was slowly creeping in.

At first he forgot why it would be such a surprising news for her but then he remembered things that normally occurred in a bedroom that held two people. But all Sanji did with Zoro was... Cuddle?

Was that really the right thing to say? They were definitely not in a romantic relationship, actually they were hardly friends but to others, this definitely appeared suspicious. The cold sweat beads were statring to form under his bangs and he was at loss for words,

"So what?" Zoro answered for the blonde, there was annoyance in his voice that was like a warning for Nami to not pursue this subject any further. Sanji would've normally snapped at this man for being rude to a lady but at the moment he was feeling grateful to be away from the topic.

Sanji handed the man his plate, the three of them sat around the table. Sanji and Nami took time in their chewing while Zoro swallowed everything whole. The food disappeared quickly and Zoro left no trace of it afterwards. And to top off his messy eating, he burped out loud subsequent to the meal causing Sanji to flinch a bit for being so obnoxious in front of a lady.

The swordsman left as quickly as he came, he sat in front of the window and started meditating. His back was straight but even from the back of his head; he seemed at harmony with the world around him.

"So Sanji, you like a man, that's why you were so hesitant in telling me." The red haired woman whispered to Sanji when they started washing the dishes. Sanji washed and Nami dried the plates.

"W-What?" Sanji stuttered. Yes, the situation did seem like that but that was completely wrong. He wanted to deny it completely but the words were not forming, instead, they were jumbling inside his mouth.

"Come on Sanji, I thought you knew me better than that. I would never judge you for your sexual preferences." She said a little too loud while looking faintly insulted.

The green haired man coughed noisily behind them causing the blonde to flush in embarrassment. The green haired man definitely heard this conversation.

"Nami-san, can we please not talk about this." He begged, the situation was plain awkward with Zoro just behind them, clearly absorbing every single word.

"Fine Sanji but you have to tell me sooner or later." She put on a pout which slightly allured Sanji, he wanted to pinch her cheeks but he knew if he did such a thing, Nami would beat the shit out of him. And he was not about to die anytime soon.

Completely ignoring the swordsman and pretending he's not there, they actually had a nice conversation. He told her that he was fired from Baratie as he intensely glared at the moss head and she told him how her part time job as a model was sufficiently earning her just enough for her college classes.

Nami apologized for her rude disregardful personality towards the blonde few days back, when she ditched Sanji for Sebastian. The blonde felt light heartened after hearing those words directly from the red haired woman. It was nice to hear that she still cared after all this time.

Through the whole conversation, Zoro didn't even budge. He simply stayed intact to the same position and remained silent, it was as if he was a ghost, non existent and transparent. It made Sanji wonder how one could be so still for such an elongated amount of time.

"So Sanji-kun, do you want to do something today or should we just stay indoors." The red haired woman asked him. She was sitting cross legged on the wooden chair as her large round breasts rested on top of the table which he could not help but to notice. Her deep cleavage was very attractive and enticing to stare at.

"Depends what you want to do Nami-swan, my love, anything for you!" His idiotic side could not endure inside any longer, seeing those wonderful breasts set him off.

She sighed, used to this treatment from the lovesick blonde, "I kind of feel like going to a bar. You know any good bars around here?"

Actually, he didn't know any bars around here since he doesn't drink very often other than some expensive wine during holidays with Zeff. "I don't know any-"

"I do, I was kind of feeling groggy." The green haired man announced as he broke his meditating form. "We can go later, and shitty cook, I'm hungry again."

"Again? We ate like an hour ago!" He complained to the green haired man.

"Remember our agreement that you'll cook for me if I sle-"Sanji quickly got off his chair to cover that damn mouth of his. "Oi," Zoro let out before his lips were clamped shut.

"Shut up, I'll do it, don't mention it ever again," He hissed out threateningly under his breath so Nami wouldn't hear. When Zoro's expression switched from a surprised glare to his regular old glare, Sanji released.

"What just happened?" Nami asked, questioning the situation.

Sanji turned back to her with his usual grinning face, "Nothing Nami-swan, what would you like for lunch? Or should I call it brunch?" He changed the subject rapidly, hoping she'll take the bait.

And because she was so clever, she took the bait but her face just shouted, "I knowingly took your bait so don't get too happy about it." Her lips twitched as if she was trying to hold back a smile as she replied, "Well, I kind of want something that doesn't add to my weight but something that's still filling."

"I just want something quickly, chop chop cook." Zoro cut in, he was smirking like he just obtained the blonde's greatest weakness, which he technically did.

The horrible thing was, the blonde couldn't snap back at the other man or anything like he usually does. Instead, Sanji frowned at Zoro and towards the red haired woman, he shouted, "Yes Nami-swannnn."

For Nami, he decided to toss some salad with pieces of chicken topped with some special dressing he created himself. And as for the green haired man, the cook simply grilled some leftover chickens dressed and coated with barbeque sauce with caesar salad on top. As for the desert, he created light peach and mint flavored mousses in glasses, a quite refreshing and a light set to finish their meal.

When satisfied, he headed back to the two of them to find that the other were immersed in an argument.

"I'm just saying Zoro, even if you have high tolerance, there's no way you can beat me."Nami argued as a scowl started to swell on her face.

The two of them were both sitting at the couch in front of the TV but neither were paying any heed towards the television.

"And I'm saying Nami, that you have no chance against me." Zoro countered, appearing competitively fierce.

"You know what, that's it, I'm going to fine you if I win tonight and you have to pay for my drinks too." Even if she sounded incredibly demanding and irritated, Sanji furtively knew this was what she was going for because Nami had very high tolerance towards alcohol. Actually the cook have never seen her drunk other than those times she faked it to pluck money off of some competitive idiots.

"Bring it on you wench!" Zoro declared.

_He's definitely some competitive idiot._

"Oi oi, watch your damn mouth marimo and here's your lunch or brunch my dearest." He set down the plate in front of the red haired woman carefully as he handed Zoro's abruptly.

And again while they were conversing, Zoro didn't even try to participate. He was intensely watching the cooking channels as if he understood every single detail on it.

_Maybe,_ Sanji thought, _maybe he just doesn't know how to get along._

Then again, he could just be anti-social which was pretty understandable. Sometimes, Sanji had those periods where he didn't want to associate with anyone but again, he deeply felt lonely during those times.

"Sanji-kun?" Nami broke through his concentrations. He actually didn't even realize that he was staring at Zoro with the corner of his eyes, just avoiding Nami's curious face.

"Ah sorry my dear, did you say something?" He asked with his full attention back on the woman's face. Sanji thought he saw a glimpse of an evil grin on this red haired woman's face but it vanished as rapidly as it appeared, causing the blonde to believe that it was never there.

"I just said this is really delicious and that it's very filling, but I don't think I can finish it. I'm sorry Sanji-kun, I know you don't like leftovers." She had that crude apologetic expression that Sanji could never be irritated at.

"Ah, it's alright, I'll just finish eating it for you." He was actually in fact full as well but he was not about to waste food. No matter what, because if he did, the past would rush back. All the regrets and the remorse of his childhood.

He stared at the contents on the plate, not even half was eaten but that was understandable since they just ate an hour ago. Sanji really didn't want to eat nor did he want to force feed himself.

Then unexpectedly, the plate was taken away from him. Zoro grabbed it and started swallowing the leftovers. "Sorry eyebrows, I was hungry." He explained himself as he began to chew.

_Did this marimo just help me?_ The blonde wondered._ Nah, I'm probably thinking too far into it._

After Zoro finished eating, he went back to Sanji's bedroom to take his usual afternoon nap like some preschooler, but the blonde refrained from saying that.

"So Sanji, are you guys dating?" Nami asked out of the blue when the blonde started to drink some water.

Sanji almost did a spit take; it took all his effort to swallow the liquid that was threatening to pour out of his mouth. "W-what?"

"Come on Sanji, it's kind of obvious," Currently her head rested on top his lap as they watched TV.

"Nami-san, you misunderstood it, he simply barged into my house last night because I forgot to lock my door and since he was tired, I just let him stay at my house. Of course, I let him have my bed because he was a guest." He partially told the truth so it wasn't fully a lie, or that was what he told himself to feel better.

The brown eyes of hers were slightly looking orange as it bored into Sanji's own blue eyes. "Sanji-kun, if you don't want to tell me then just say it."

He sighed out exasperatedly, not at the woman but at himself for even starting out such a lie. "My apologies Nami-san, it's not that I like being secretive, it's just difficult to talk about it right now. Please, don't take any offense." His hands freely roamed through her reddish orange hair and tickled the top of her forehead.

"I'll get it out of you in the future though," she grinned playfully once more, creating the situation to be less serious than it was.

She did not bring the topic up again and their conversations flowed smoothly as the time passed by much faster.

* * *

The look on the cook's face, it was so dream-like. He had that tender smile taking over his visage as he lightly brushed his fingers against that soft white skin of hers. That expression of his pained Zoro's chest, it scrunched his heart up and blocked his air channel. He felt suffocated from sudden anger, annoyance, and painful jealousy that welled up within him. But he could not find the reason for that jealousy. Was he jealous of the cook? Certainly not since he never judged a person upon their looks and from what he found out, that red haired woman was a witch. So that remained jealousy towards Nami which also could not be explained.

When the blonde sensed him near, his gentle expression abruptly turned cold. Zoro's heart ached even more, his hands reached for his chest and he squeezed. Physical pain always disrupted his unexplainable emotional pains.

"Oi marimo, are you okay?" The blonde asked, his small movement interrupted the red haired woman's peaceful nap.

"Mmm, what's wrong?" She asked, still half asleep, as she scrubbed her eyes with those white fingers.

Zoro's sudden ache stopped, he began to obtain complete control over his body once again. "Um you want to go to the bar now? My friends just called and said they're already there. Eyebrows already met them and Nami you already know Luffy, so yeah."

"Oh, your friends are coming?" The blonde's eyes had a spark of excitement in them but it only last for a second since he masked his enthusiasm with a suave voice. "I mean, oh that's nice, are any of your lady friends coming?"

"Maybe Kuina and this other girl named Kaya but I'm not too sure." He answered the eager blonde.

The blonde had that idiotic expression once again. "Oh Kaya, just by hearing your name, I feel the love sparkling within me."

"She's taken by Usopp."

The blonde's face when the news broke in was damn hilarious.

* * *

When they entered Blueno, the green haired man's friends welcomed Sanji as if he was already part of their group. They enthusiastically invited him to sit among them; truly welcoming. Itt made him feel all too comfortable. He could also tell that Nami was enjoying herself too. She was laughing hysterically when the younger one of the raven haired brothers made a fool out of himself.

Even Zoro seemed satisfied with the situation, his usual grouchy face was less mean looking.

Sanji met Kaya, she had platinum blonde hair and owned very beautiful features. It made the blonde blush when he observed the shy couple in front of him. Usopp reached for her hands as he was telling her some outrageous story, causing both to flush in embarrassment. It reminded Sanji of some innocent love he never had.

"Haha, I wonder how they're going to have sex." Ace said bluntly as his hand held up a glass.

The blonde chuckled lightly because it was quite funny. They would have a nervous attack trying to touch each other.

Brook made Sanji flinch when he laughed loudly next to him, "Yohohoho, I wonder if one day she'll let me see her panties." It was strange but this man was an outrageous pervert yet a gentleman, more of a gentleman than Sanji.

"Oi oi, if you want to see someone's panties, I'll always be willing to wear my speedos." Franky announced proudly as he pushed his black sunglasses upward with his thumb.

Ace stared at him dully, "Franky, you do that like almost every day, we saw enough."

"Yes, I desire a lady's panties, not yours Franky." Brooke told the spiky blue haired man.

The conversations drowned out inside Sanji's head when he spotted Zoro's eyes because all of a sudden, they suddenly widened in shock. And when the blonde followed the man's gaze, it was towards the entrance of the bar, at a beautiful sophisticated looking woman. She owned straight raven hair and sparkling blue eyes and for his eyes's enjoyment, her outfit was quite revealing, causing the blonde to slightly drool a the corner of his moouth.

Even if this woman was astonishingly beautiful, the expression on Zoro's face wasn't star struck; it was more like shockingly disturbed. The one who did seem star struck was the blue haired man next to Sanji. His eyes were widened and he appeared as if million stars flew through his heart.

And for a second, the woman's eyes gazed into Zoro's and their eyes locked but as if some secret understanding passed through, they swiftly acted as if nothing happened.

"Robin!" Nami's voice shouted out behind Sanji, deafening his ears a bit.

The raven haired woman glanced towards Nami as her eyes expanded, "Oh my, Nami, why are you here?" Her tone matched her refined appearance completely.

"Robin!" Luffy shouted out with enthusiasm, his mouth and hands were filled with food but the sophisticated woman didn't seem to mind. She was actually chuckling softly as if she expected this from Luffy, which definitely proved that she knew him well.

"Fufufu, I see you're here as well Luffy."

Sanji stood up to take her gentle slender hands into his then introduced himself, "Oh my beautiful lady, my name is Sanji. I'm a friend of this idiot," He pointed at Luffy, "and this other beautiful lady." He pointed toward Nami. "Your beauty intoxicates me!" He released her hand as he aimed for a hug.

Nami pushed him out of the way as she continued to chat with the raven haired woman.

"Idiot cook," Zoro silently grumbled before sipping his drink.

"What did you say you idiot?" As always he stepped forward, inside Zoro's personal space to grab a hold of him. "What's your relation with Robin-chan?" He whispered quietly so no one would hear except for this man.

Zoro's eyes widened at the question but his tone remained mutual, "None of your business, now let go of me." He ordered, his eyes were threatening and it demanded release.

Sanji sighed as he loosened his grip on the man. Zoro's eyes flicked towards the entrance again and this time the surprise in his eyes was a joyful one. "Kuina," he breathed out. The amiable expression on his face was back. That face he showed towards the kids. That face he showed to everyone else except towards Sanji.

The green haired man stood up to greet Kuina, completely leaving Sanji behind. The blonde couldn't help but to follow Zoro with his eyes. A yearning sensation took over him. Even though Zoro was so close, within Sanji's reach, he felt so far away. It felt as if that man was unreachable. "Sanji-kun." A voice intervened with his obvious stares.

"Nami-san?" The blonde asked questioningly and when he turned his head away from the moss head, he did meet the red haired woman.

He didn't like the look she was giving him. It was like she could see through him. It was as if she knew something about himself that he didn't. Nami was really too clever for her own good.

Behind her, Franky was shyly shaking Robin's hand. Luffy was obliviously slapping the blue haired man's wide back and the sophisticated raven haired woman giggled at the current situation. Her eyes were twinkling and the edges of her eyes were crinkled.

Then his eyes traveled once again where the green haired man was at. He was grinning happily and drinking with Kuina, they were probably sharing a private joke. Both of them were literally in a corner where no one could disrupt them and instead of feeling lonely and left out, Zoro seem to be so damn content and happy.

"Sanji," Nami slightly shouted, grabbing his attention again. It seemed that she has been repeating his name for awhile. However, her face did not hold irritation. It was still that understanding expression he was beginning to dislike.

"Ah, sorry Nami-san, the alcohol is affecting me. My mind is starting to wander." He excused himself but it wasn't a complete lie, the alcohol was actually starting to loosen his focus in things. Some things were weirdly fuzzy and some things were inhumanely clear.

"Sanji, if you like Zoro, go for him."

The blonde blinked few times, he wondered if he heard right but judging from the red haired woman's expression, he did. "What are you talking about Nami-san, he's a man and he has someone in his life." His voice wavered a bit as Nami's expression began to contort.

"Who cares Sanji, your happiness comes first. And answer this question, if Zoro was a woman, would you have taken this chance?" She asked, completely serious.

Sanji's voice began trembling from anger, why couldn't she understand? Why couldn't she understand him like he could understand her? He loved her, not Zoro. Sanji loved Nami! "What are you talking about Nami-san? Even if we play the 'what if' game, it's never going to happen because he is and will stay a man!"

In normal occasions, he would've never shouted at Nami the way he did right now but currently, he couldn't grab a hold onto his senses. His usual morals disappeared from his brain without a trace.

The woman visibly flinched at the words, "Sanji, gender does not matter. Love is love."

What was she talking about? The blonde did not love the green haired man. Did he? Does it really matter what Sanji thinks? God was never kind enough to give him what he wanted in the past so why start now?

"No! It does matter! Society will judge you no matter what, if this, whatever this is, ever happened." He knew his face was turning red and appearing psychotic but he could not stop, the emotions were starting to pour. Sanji had to let everything out, all the emotions he held within leaked. The feelings he bottled in after all this time were beginning to show its colors.

And the worst thing was, the blonde wasn't even sure of anything anymore. He continued to question his love for Nami as a new mystery crept inside his brain. _Did he actually like Zoro? _

Nami suddenly appeared stern and her lips stayed firm as if she was dealing with a child who had been mischievous, "Sanji, you may not realize it yet but you like him. I just know it."

"No, you're wrong," he hissed, the words were really slurring now. His head began to spin and Nami's face was going in and out of focus.

"Am I?"

That certainly was a good question since he could not answer it himself.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN**: Sorry everyone, I was only going to write 5000 words for this chapter but then the more I wrote the longer it became, now it's my longest chapter yet. At least I have an excuse for posting so late, right? xD

Sanji was present at the bar but he was far from actually being there. It felt as if he was the main character in a foreign movie but he himself was someone who he couldn't recognize. The night passed vaguely but some events were clear or _someone._

Zoro was awfully happy, happier than Sanji ever seen. And there were times when he frowned yet still appeared cheerful.

Sanji also remembered the sting he felt in his chest when Zoro secretly pulled his lover into a kiss when he thought no one was watching. Those small touches he gave to Kuina, Sanji longed for them.

It was stupid because Zoro was a man, _clearly_, and an idiotic bastard who always kept to himself yet the blonde had this uncontrollable attraction toward Zoro as if they were magnets. The clever red haired woman was right, maybe deep down inside Sanji's heart; he had feelings for this green haired moron.

The blonde was feeling miserable. He felt fucking lonely yet the only person he sought was Zoro.

A bitter laugher bubbled within his throat, _what does he expect?_ Does he truly expect the green haired man to suddenly walk up to him to confess his attraction toward Sanji, equaling the feelings the blonde felt for him as well? If that ever happened, Sanji probably would run outside in panic.

This was all fatuous because he was mourning over something that was presumably lust, something that was just a simple phase.

Sanji blamed the alcohol for intensifying his mood. The depression was overpowering all his thoughts and sensations. But he kept sipping his drink, it somewhat calmed his nerves, differentiating the nicotine he normally had but in its own way, it helped.

"Hello Mr. Blackleg," A soft elegant voice greeted.

When Sanji turned to meet the voice, he was surprised to find the raven haired woman called Robin beside him. Her blue eyes were sparkling as if it were jewels much divergent from Sanji's own blue eyes.

Much to the blonde's dislike, his own voice came out slurred and undignified, "Helloo Robin-Chwan." He added his Japanese reference after this woman's name as well but she didn't seem to mind it, she instead chuckled lively.

"Your friends are very active but kind. I've been talking to them all night but I haven't talked with you much, I heard you are very close to Mr. Roronoa?" She asked, her eyes still twinkled under the light.

Sanji's face was unnaturally burning and his head felt heavy as if something massive was on top of his head. "That bastard? He's not worth mentioning and we're not close at all. He always frowns at me and only me but he's so nice to everyone else." His own voice sounded childish and he was pouting. "He hates me."

The blue eyed woman seemed surprised at the revelation made from the blonde. But her voice sounded understanding and composed, "Mr. Roronoa is the type of a person who is disclosed of his personal feelings toward everyone until one becomes closer to him. You may need to give him some time."

The blonde felt like weeping, which was positively because of the alcohol because if it were normal occasions, he would never break down in front of another person in fear of being seen as weak. "I don't have the time, two more days and that's it."

Now the woman appeared confused, "Mr. Blackleg, would you care to explain?"

And that was exactly what he did, the last couple days poured out of his mouth. He found Robin to be an amazing listener, her eyes bored into his as she responded at the exact right places and her attention never faltered.

For some reason, he did not waver in pouring all his thoughts and feelings to this woman. It was perhaps because she did not judge, not even once, and her character appeared to be those who would never reveal secrets unless necessary which relaxed Sanji by a whole.

"And Miss Navigator said you had feelings for him?" The raven haired woman was referring to Nami since the red haired woman was one of the best navigators in the world.

Sanji slowly nodded his heavy head, now his eyelids felt awfully heavy as well.

"And you feel as if you have feelings for him?" She asked with no humor in her voice.

Sanji once again nodded, all the shame had already disappeared. Robin somehow chased away all the embarrassment within Sanji, it made him all too more comfortable about revealing his secrets to this woman.

"Mr. Blackleg, you may not see it as clearly as I do but the solution is quite simple. You must reveal your feelings to Mr. Roronoa before the time is up or all would be lost with regret." In her hands, she held a cup that contained coffee. Even if this place was a bar, they seemed to have all the regular drinks as well. Like milk for Chopper, coke for Franky, and coffee for Robin.

Sanji was at loss for words, his mind wasn't processing fast as usual but he obtained the hint of what she was suggesting. "No," he rejected the idea, "No no no, Sorry Robin-chan, I can't possibly, no. It's merely a phase so it'll just pass by like a breeze." He assured her. Why he assured her, he wasn't too sure; it was as if he was trying to convince himself by convincing this raven haired woman.

She calmly sipped her coffee patiently, "Really , the choice is yours." She told him with a smile that added pressure and guilt to the blonde.

"Ah thank you my lady, you helped so much and I came to a decision." He told her but the thing was, he didn't make a decision. He was far from it. However, he didn't want to continue this conversation, it made his head ache and he really didn't need such especially added with alcohol.

Robin's crystal blue eyes observed him with such intensity. It was as if she could see through Sanji. But she smiled, breaking the tense situation as she stood up and said, "That was a very nice talk but I must be going soon, I do have a night job."

She picked up her cowboy hat from the counter and placed it on top of her head. Her mystifying smile was still displayed on her exotic features, but Sanji was no longer paying attention to her pretty face as the painful headaches began to torture his thoughts.

"Fuck," he cursed out loud, his head was unnaturally throbbing harshly and his veins on his forehead felt as if they would pop.

Sanji once again stared at where the green haired man was. Zoro was no longer grinning; he instead had that serious expression which was more familiar to the blonde. Zoro's mouth moved, he was telling Kuina and Nami something then he abruptly stood up to head out the door, chasing after the raven haired woman.

The blonde was curious; he really was but was it his place to eavesdrop? Then again, if anyone caught him, he could always blame the alcohol, _right_?

With this optimistic thought, he stood up and cautiously walked out the door to search for the familiar faces. When he spotted the two, he stood not so close for Zoro to feel his presence but enough for him to hear the conversation somewhat.

"First Law, now you, I know something's up. Better fucking say it or I'm dropping out, tell the boss that." The green haired man growled out, his voice was spuriously ferocious as if he was trying to scare her so she would spill the information he needed.

But Robin was not intimidated at all, she chuckled, "fufufu, Mr. Roronoa, this really is coincidence and you quitting now would not benefit you at all since you're so close to the end of the deal, isn't that right?" Her voice was manipulative and clear, it was quite frightening yet impressing at the same time.

The idiotic green haired man sounded frustrated, "The deal better be kept, I did not waste my years in this useless organization for nothing." Then his voice suddenly hushed into a whisper which Sanji could not hear.

After few seconds, Robin's voice clearly rang throughout. "Goodnight Mr. Roronoa, I must be going, I have more missions than you do after all." She still sounded cheery as she greeted the man goodbye.

The heavy footsteps indicated Zoro nearing where the blonde hid; his murmurs of curses were clearly heard as well. But Sanji wasn't paying any attention to what the man was saying since he was panicking to find another hiding space.

But it was too late, Zoro was too close and if Sanji made any movements, the green haired man would realize.

The blonde held his breath as if he was holding onto his dear life. His head was still throbbing rhythmically and violently and he prayed to anyone out there that the shade would be enough for Zoro to not notice him.

The minutes felt as if it was hours, Sanji had this urge to wipe the bead of sweat that was dripping down his temple but he resisted. The green haired man passed by, not even glancing back towards where Sanji stood; luckily the dim light was dark enough to shadow even his bright blonde hair.

He slowly let the air he held out, slow and tentatively. Then Sanji accidentally let out too much air, creating a sound, it caused Zoro to turn around rapidly.

Soon the hands grabbed the collar of Sanji's, the blonde was too sluggish to react, heavily affected by the alcohol.

"Oof," Sanji let out as his back hit the ground, luckily his head avoided the direct clash to the cement but it still ached painfully. The thuds in his head were much louder and harder.

"Fucker, who the hell are you?" Zoro breathed out, his grip around the blonde's neck was magnificently strong and firm, it cut the cook's air tunnel, preventing Sanji from speaking clearly. "Unlucky for you, you're going to die here, right now." The words threatened and the frightening thing was, it was dead serious, not a hint of joke behind it.

_Shit, if I don't do anything, he's going to kill me._

"M-mar-marimo, fu-fuck, it's me!" Sanji choked out, his words were still slurring and incomprehensible but Zoro grip around his neck loosened. The man probably recognized the voice.

"Cook?" He asked questionably, neither of them were adjusted to the dim light yet.

Since the blonde was no longer under the threat of being murdered, his voice came out much more clearly, "Yeah, it's me." He was intensely aware of the position they held. Zoro's thighs were wrapped around Sanji's waist, straddling him, and the bump the blonde felt on his belly, it was unmistakably the green haired man's member.

The green haired man sighed as he got off of Sanji, the blonde strangely missed the close touch with Zoro but he shrugged the thought off.

"Shit, what the hell are you doing? I told you to stay out of my business didn't I?" Zoro tiredly told the blonde.

This certainly wasn't what Sanji expected. He expected the green haired man to be furious but he wasn't.

"I was going home and I happened to hear it," he tried his hardest to keep his voice straight and steady but the sign of him being drunk cracked through. Sanji's eyes were starting to adjust to this darkness. He was able to see the swordsman's face faintly.

"Bullshit, I fucking drove you here and I know you expected a drive back, just tell me what you heard shitty cook." Zoro demanded.

The blonde's head was really spinning, alcohol was really hitting him full force now. Zoro's faintly visible face kept going out of focus. "Can we talk about this tomorrow please?"

Zoro's voice sounded surprised since this was the first time Sanji ever pleaded, "Uh, whatever. Just wait in the car. I have to tell Kuina and the witch that we're leaving."

After this, Sanji barely remembered a single thing. He indistinctly recalled being in the car with Zoro alone. Then he was too dizzy to walk and the next thing he recalled was being tucked in to go to bed. It was truly mysterious how everything proceeded.

* * *

This was literally the third time that Zoro had to carry the careless blonde. It wasn't irritating to take responsibility since he was often told that he was like a parent but it really was shocking to know how this man let his guard down around Zoro so easily. After all, Zoro could kill him at anytime without anyone noticing with no trace of evidence left behind.

_But you wouldn't, _The blonde's voice peeped through his mind.

This has been happening lately, all his thoughts have been influenced by this man's voice, face, and actions. Clandestinely though, Zoro didn't really mind. He admired the man so it made sense.

Before going to bed, Zoro meditated for hours even though it felt like minutes in his blank state of mind.

When he was a child, it was much harder for him to reach this state. His young mind was overfilled with impatience and useless thoughts that always drove his system which made it impossible for him to achieve his higher self. But as his brain developed into a much more philosophical state, acquiring this state became less complicated.

In the beginning, he practiced only having one thought, a mantra for example, then he soon advanced into having absolutely no thoughts. The whole process was a pain in the ass to achieve but at the end it was very worth it. He now mastered the two types of meditations, one was to have heightened awareness's and the other was to erase all awareness's, both have proven themselves useful over time.

After meditation, his body felt sore and his mind was more exhausted than usual.

And he didn't even realize how strange it was for him to wrap his arms around the blonde before sleeping.

**Sunday, 6th day**

As usual, Zoro was awoken by the delicious scent but just like yesterday, he heard voices too. The same voices he heard the day before, the cook's and the witch's.

He lazily stretched and the heavy muscles of his flexed by loosening then tightening once more. Zoro wanted to sleep longer but it was not possible with the voices jabbering inside his head and his grumbling stomach asking for food.

When he stepped out, he saw the two conversing as usual. But they stopped to stare at his way when the floor creaked beneath him.

"Zoro! You didn't pay for the drinks last night; you owe me 50,000 dollars now." The red haired woman told him, her face grew from anger to a smirk. Because he left earlier last night and ditched their game, Nami believed that he owed her for not paying at all.

"Whatever," he brushed it off at first because he didn't exactly catch what was wrong with the sentence then the outrageous price suddenly made his head snap back to her, "What? You wench, stop trying to rip money off me, I barely have any!"

"Oops, you already agreed, I just recorded your voice." Her grin was larger as she took out her phone to play the recording.

_You owe me 50,000 dollars now._

_Whatever_

"Clear evidence and I guess if you can't pay off your debt, you'll just have to be my slave for eternity." She plainly stated as she picked up bacon off the plate.

"You wench!' Zoro shouted out, the perfect nickname he picked out for this money loving woman.

The blonde erupted in laughter, "Damn what the hell happened when I was out?" He set a plate in front of Zoro.

The question set alarm within Zoro, "You mean, you don't remember anything from yesterday?" He asked hesitantly, careful not to reveal too much to the clever woman.

"What happened yesterday?" Nami asked noisily, her expression still held that grin.

"Nothing," he responded a little too defensively.

Sanji raised his eyebrow in confusion but it dropped as he gave up on the subject, "So Nami-swannnn, what do you have planned out for us today? Since it's a Sunday!"

The green haired man ate in silence with confusion. He didn't know it was actually likely for someone to lose memories because of alcohol. But since he himself was never fully drunk, he couldn't judge and the blonde was acting normal as always so he soon forgot about the problem.

"Zoro! Did you hear me?"

He looked up, completely oblivious to the previous conversation that was held, "Huh?"

Nami rolled her eyes, clearly irritated with his ignorance, "I said, since me and Kuina agreed to hang out today, can we go to your house?"

"Why my house? Why not any of your houses?" He shot back, the images of his messy, mice infested kitchen came to his head, and the absent of ingredients inside his refrigerator.

"Come on, we have to change our places to hang out once in awhile. We're always in Sanji's house. I live in a dorm and Kuina's uncomfortable with her dad there."

Zoro glared at her, "Doesn't mean you can make the decision to barge into my house." His voice was so unfriendly and ill-tempered sounding.

"Sanji, please convince Zoro," she asked the blonde as her fingers softly stroked underneath his chin, brushing against his undersized goatee. Immediately, his expression changed into a perverted one as his mouth curled into a grin.

The idiotic cook had that lovey dovey expression toward the woman as he dreamily said, "anything for you Nami-swan." Then of course that expression wore off when he faced Zoro, "Oi marimo, just for one day."

"No"

Sanji's face suddenly contorted into a determined countenance. Zoro expected a leg to swing across his face but then there was neither fight nor an argument; instead the blonde dropped his face and only looked up with his visible eye. It was begging Zoro silently. "Please?" The cook asked with such a pleading voice that it sent chills toward Zoro's spine. It was frightening to hear such a voice coming out of this violent man.

But for some reason, the word 'no' would not form again, to substitute, he heard himself say, "Sure."

_What the hell?_ Zoro thought right after but the glee in the two faces in front of him shut anything else the green haired man wanted to say.

* * *

Sanji wanted to laugh at the expression the green haired man was creating but he held his tongue so the mirth wouldn't show. It was strange how Zoro denied the beautiful woman yet listened to the blonde's request. It was probably because Sanji didn't plead often or _act_. His acting skills were truly flawless and if cooking weren't his passion, it would have to be acting.

Speaking of faking, he also faked his memory loss of the night before. It was one of the events he remembered crystal clear inside his head and he was still trying to figure out what it meant. Sanji was pretty sure he heard the word 'organization' and something about a deal. It was all highly puzzling.

"Are we inviting the rest of Zoro's friends?" Sanji asked dubiously. He really enjoyed their company, Zoro's friends. They had only been friendly, inviting, and epically weird to the blonde. It was impossible to dislike any of them.

Disappointingly, the red haired woman shook her head, "Sorry, me and Kuina decided to have a smaller group this time. Maybe next time." She promised.

Sanji's ears perked at the words 'next time.' Did this mean that the blonde would see Zoro often, even in the future? Did this mean that the end wasn't so soon after all?

His eyes peeked at the green haired man who was just nodding but the expression he held told Sanji that he wasn't listening to a single word. The blonde wanted to bash his own head against the counter for Zoro's idiocy and nescience.

Then out of nowhere, Zoro's head shot up, "Just saying that my house is a mess and I have no ingredients in my refrigerator."

Sanji chuckled mockingly, "I guessed that much idiot, what else I could expect from a mosshead like you?"

The green haired man frowned but soon shrugged, "whatever, I can't be a clean freak like you shitty cook."

"What did you say grassy? You wanna go at it?" Sanji threatened.

"Bring it on damn swirly brows!"

But before neither could attack one another, the red haired woman's anger was harshly brought to the top of their heads. The iron fists of Nami's were very painful to receive.

"You witch!" Zoro shouted again as his hands reached up to touch the growing bump on his head.

Sanji was spinning idiotically shouting, "Ahh Nami-san, I just felt the spark of our love again."

Nami ignored the complaints as she gave out orders, "Fine Zoro, go home and clean, I'm not going to a filthy house. Sanji go with him to buy ingredients and you guys make sure that everything is perfect before me and Kuina step inside. Alright?" Her voice was demanding and firm which Sanji loved. This woman was so sure about everything she did, an instinctual and an intellectual woman he absolutely adored.

"Hai(yes) Nami-swan!" Just like a slave, he did not hesitate in answering her.

But the idiot swordsman was unresponsive to the safe road as always. He continued to complain at the woman, "Hell that I'm taking orders from you!"

_You owe me 50,000 dollars now._

_Whatever_

Nami replayed her recording as she smirked at the green haired man, satisfied that she got a weakness out of this stubborn lad. "Want interest added to this?" She threatened with an innocent smile playing out on her face.

The green haired man grumbled and said, "Let's go cook." Sanji derided Zoro the whole way to his house for being so ridiculously easy to tease.

When they reached the swordsman's house, Sanji's jaw literally dropped. This place was garbage. That was a very rude way of putting it but it described this place perfectly. Everything was piled on top of another and empty cup that once held ramen noodles were empty, now filled with disgusting insects that the blonde did not want to identify. Actually Sanji was deathly scared of insects and anything that was small and nasty. It was just not his area of comfortably.

"Ok Zoro, I'm going to go grocery shopping, you clean." He tried to deal with the man, Sanji was not going to try to clean this mess up and possibly have those filthy creatures crawling on his body. At the thought, he shivered horrifyingly.

"Hey," the green haired man said. Sanji's heart suddenly thumped _what if he knows my weakness?_ "So, are you sure you don't remember anything from yesterday?" Zoro asked.

Sanji's shoulders that were tense loosened slightly. "We'll talk after you clean this mess. By the way, what do you want for dinner tonight?" He changed the subject to avoid the topic he was not ready to talk about. Sanji was thinking of bringing last night up to this man but he just didn't know how to nor did he know what to say about it.

"I don't know, I'm craving some Japanese food though." Zoro told him as he started to pack everything into a garbage bag.

Sanji made sure to be far away from the mess as possible. He shouted behind his back before leaving, "I'm borrowing your car!" But Sanji doubted the green haired man heard his voice since there were no yells in response.

* * *

The water drips outside from a tiny shower of drizzle was what helped the processes in her mind flow. _drip...drip..._ Those water droplets splashed against the ground repeatedly.

_Concentrate on each drop, _she told herself. But that thought was what took her off the track, a sudden image of the night before was suddenly shown vividly.

"_Sorry, I have to leave now," Her lover said. He was panting lightly between each word._

_She lifted her eyes inquiringly, their drinking game barely started. Well for her anyways. _"_Why?" Her voice came out softly and fierce at the same time._

"_Curly passed out," Zoro stated with no explanations which she was used to. He had always been the silent type after all. No matter how much she tried, there was always another secret that he kept hidden. She always believed patience was the key and that she would eventually get through so she tried to be not bothered._

_The woman sitting next to her who also happened to be in their drinking game spoke, "Zoro, you drop out, you owe me money big time." It seemed as if this woman named Nami had a huge obsession with money._

_She really expected her lover to stay since he had always been short on cash, so he could not afford to be in debt. However, he left without another word, leaving Kuina befuddled._

But after Zoro had left, it gave the two women a great chance to talk to one another. Kuina found the red haired woman to be very sociable and kind hearted even if her actions were sometimes covered up by the greediness she held.

When they were slightly sober, they both agreed to have this dinner tonight together with their 'lovers' even though the other woman rejected the idea of Sanji being anything other than a friend to her. But Kuina could see potential in the relationship between Nami and the blonde man; they were childhood friends just like Zoro and herself after all. It wasn't so far from impossibility.

But what still confounded her was the way Zoro always acted around Sanji. It was different for some reason. It was as if they had this connection that she could not find nor understand, price for being a woman. It was as if the two males had a secret that could not be apprehended by any other beings. Kuina wasn't exactly jealous but she did feel this slight envy. The blonde man seemed to be somehow closer to Zoro.

When she heard a tune she was familiar with, she picked up her phone. "Hello?"

"Hey! Kuina!" Nami's voice cheerfully rang. "So, I got Zoro convinced, we're going to his place tonight!"

_Really?_ After all these years, Kuina rarely saw Zoro's home. Hardly even stepped inside except for once when he bought first bought the house and Kuina agreed to help decorate it. After that event, Zoro refused to let her inside saying that his house was too messy. But somehow, Nami convinced her stubborn childhood friend.

"How? He's so persistent in not letting anyone inside. How the hell did you manage that?"

The woman's voice chuckled sweetly, "I didn't manage it, Sanji did. It was funny."

Kuina's heart jumped, _of course it was Sanji. _It was as if she expected this. "Haha, he really knows how to get through Zoro." She told Nami, trying to sound as casual as possible but her heart somewhat felt bitter and envy once more.

"They're awfully close even though they've only known each other for not even a week."

"Yeah, aren't they?" Kuina responded.

Nami changed the topic to ask her question. "So, can you pick me up at 5? Around there."

"Sure," Kuina answered then the phone clicked after an exchange of goodbyes.

* * *

Zoro picked up the last ramen noodle cup and placed it inside the garbage bag. The house looked somewhat clean now, but there were still many bugs everywhere and possibly mice. And there were many other things on the floor that he had to pick up.

Unwillingly, he went back to work, it was so tiring. He was so used to being lazy and dingy inside his own house that cleaning was something new to him.

"Oi I'm back mosshead! Did you clean up?" The cook's voice rang through the house.

Zoro yelled back, "Not yet."

"God, you're so slow," the blonde was now in view and he was carrying multiple plastic bags in his hands. His mouth held a cigarette, a look that Zoro was used to seeing. This cook was such a heavy smoker.

"Shut up," he replied.

Then he heard a screech followed by strings of curses, "Fucking shitty, what the fuck, shitty little bugs." Sanji shouted out as he avoided the crawling insects everywhere. "What the fuck marimo, I thought you cleaned somewhat! These little disgusting shits are still here."

Zoro felt his mouth curve into a grin, "Are you afraid of some bugs, scaredy brows?" It was so hilarious how this man had such a girly trait. At the words he spilled, Sanji's face flushed in response, telling Zoro that his guess was correct.

"Fuck you," the blonde cursed as he walked off towards the kitchen, still avoiding the little critters on the floor.

For the next few hours, they exchanged very few words. Sanji demanded Zoro to clean the kitchen first so he could start cooking which the swordsman had to abide to. After all, the blonde was very demanding and annoying. After the kitchen, Zoro cleaned up the rest of his house. Even if he was lazy on many occasions, once he starts doing something, he did not stop until it is finished. He vacuumed, dusted, wiped, and mopped as swiftly as possible.

By the end of it all, his house was not what one would call sparkling clean but it was honestly close to it. The whole time, the blonde ignored him as he concentrated on his cooking and the house was filled with the delicious scent, it reminded Zoro of Japan.

For vacations which were always arranged by Koshiro, they went to Japan constantly. It was Kuina's and Zoro's homeland after all.

Zoro recalled when he took Kuina to a carnival once; she was dressed in a very girly kimono. Very unlike him, he treated her like a gentleman would that night. He bought her everything she desired and when she tripped, he carried her on his back. They were fairly young but he was stronger than all the boys his age back then so it was no trouble. But he remembered Kuina barking at him to let her off because it was shameful or something but the younger self of him refused to listen. Even back then, he was a stubborn lad who only listened to his instincts.

A yawn broke through his face as he walked towards the kitchen. Even though he finished cleaning, it felt as if he still had to do something. He couldn't stop pacing around. "Cook, I'll help," he suggested.

Sanji's concentration broke as he stared at the green haired man in shock, "You? Help? In here?" He separated the words with disbelief.

Zoro glared at the man, "Fine, I'll do weight training or some shit like that." He told the blonde as he started to walk off.

Then lightly, he felt the blonde's hand on his shoulder, "Wait, come here, cut these onions for me." Sanji handed him a sharp kitchen knife and a bag of onions. "Peel the skin and chop them into pieces, can you manage that oh wise swordsman?" His voice was full of mockery and Zoro was determined to prove himself to this man.

"How hard can it be, I practice with sharp things every day." He said in full confidence.

But Zoro soon found out that wielding a katana and cutting onions were two opposite things. His fingers were full of cuts after few onions and when he rubbed his eyes, tears started to form.

"Having a difficult time marimo? Need help?" Sanji asked playfully.

Zoro's pride was not about to be broken, "No, I'm doing fine."

But the blonde wasn't listening and when he saw the blood stains on some onions, he abruptly stopped what he was doing and wiped his hands on the white apron he was currently wearing. "Hey shitty marimo, no one wants to taste blood. Your cutting skills sucks ass."

"Well, I cut people not onions regularly."

The blonde tilted his head back slightly to laugh, "Should I warn the cops or"

Zoro grinned, "Don't worry about yourself, I don't cut idiotic people."

Sanji's face was still grinning surprisingly, not a trace of anger from the comment but he still growled out, "bastard."

The green haired man had to chuckle that time. Sanji swerved around and stopped behind Zoro, "here, let me help." He said right above Zoro's head as his lean hands cupped Zoro's.

Zoro didn't know what was happening, it felt weird to have the blonde touching him so gently but he didn't pull away. The blonde picked up the knife using Zoro's hand and guided him. The other hand of his was suddenly used by Sanji too. As his left hand held the onion firmly to the cutting board, his right hand leisurely chopped the onion to bits.

"This is how you do it," Sanji told Zoro, his voice was suddenly softer and closer to Zoro's ears.

Suddenly Zoro was aware of how close the blonde was to him, his hands all of a sudden felt heated and everywhere Sanji grazed burned. The images of the onions blurred and the only sounds he heard were the even breathes of Sanji's.

"And there you go," The blonde told Zoro.

When he looked down, the onions were in perfect squares, absolutely flawless. Sanji then pulled away, heading back to his earlier tasks.

_What the hell was that?_ Zoro knew that was not normal, even if he was slow at times, that felt like an intimate touch. The blonde was being all gentle and shit which Zoro was definitely not used to. But the strangest thing was, Zoro didn't mind, he actually liked it and when the blonde pulled away, he had this faintest desire to pull him back.

"We're here!" A voice shouted out.

Soon his black haired lover and the wench came in with plastic bags hanging off their arms.

Sanji greeted both with his idiotic lovey dovey smile but he remained firmly in front of his cooking, staying on task. "My loves, dinner is almost finished!"

"I heard your cooking is really good Sanji," Kuina said as she dropped the plastic bags on the counter which revealed beer bottles.

The blonde smiled at the woman, showing his white teeth, "I try my best."

Zoro noticed that Sanji's behavior toward Kuina slightly differed from his usual behaviors towards women. It was still respectful but far less flirty. Maybe it was because he realized she doesn't favor such behaviors or he figured she wasn't interested. Whatever it was, Zoro wondered why he himself was curious about the blonde.

Soon the dinner table was filled with Japanese foods; he actually recognized a lot of dishes on the table. Shrimp tempura, udon, okonomiyaki, takoyaki, miso soup, and many side dishes. The cook really went all out and filled the whole table with variety types of Zoro's homeland meals.

"I know this is way too much but you guys can take some home if you want and eat it in the future. If there are any more requests, I'll take it." The blonde shyly scratched his head as his other hand fumbled at the knot of his apron.

"Here, let me do it cook," Zoro told him as he stood up to untie the knot. The blonde unexpectedly stood quiet as Zoro pulled at the strings.

"I could've done it myself," Sanji mumbled when Zoro finished untying it.

"Yeah yeah whatever."

Nami was strangely smirking at Zoro, it slightly creped him out a bit and Kuina was merely staring intently at him, making him feel extremely uncomfortable in his seat.

"Itadakimasu," The girls shouted before picking up their chopsticks. Zoro grumbled it right after them and Sanji simply started eating silently.

"Oh my god, this is so good," Kuina told Sanji, her face appeared very pleased.

"Oh your compliments are too kind," the blonde responded, his lips starting to slant into a smile.

The red haired woman spoke, "I swear, you could be a professional chef anytime you want Sanji. I don't see why you shouldn't go for it."

"I believe you have to be discovered to do that by owning a restaurant or something which I do not have. I was thinking of entering a competition but that would be a waste of time if I lost."

Nami started to argue, "I doubt you could lose Sanji, you know everything about food! And if you published a recipe book, I would totally buy it."

"You're too sweet Nami-san," he swooned. "But I was just thinking of quietly taking over Baratie after the old man. Even though I'm fired at the moment, I know I'll be called back. That old man needs me after all, I'm his only relative."

The woman's face dropped, "That's such a waste Sanji, you could do so much more."

"As long as I can cook and feed others, I'm satisfied."

That broad statement somewhat touched Zoro's heart. It was rare to see someone who held such a passion, not for only himself but for others as well. This cook really was something more than he appeared; it shocked the green haired man to no ends.

"But isn't it every cook's dream to become the best?" He blurted out. It made sense because just like swordsmanship, everyone thrived to top others and seeing this competitive cook, he had to have some type of passion to be the best.

Sanji glanced at Zoro, "No idiot. My dream isn't something simple as that and there's no such thing as a best cook. Every cook in the world holds different knowledge and since everyone has different taste buds, no one can really be the best. And also, cooking is a tool to give energy to humans, not something to use for fame." He calmly told Zoro.

It made sense but Zoro's question was not answered, "Then what's your dream? You have to want something."

"Have you ever heard of All Blue?" Sanji suddenly asked with excitement, his visible eye had widened extensively. It was all of a sudden dream-like.

"No," Zoro answered. He had never heard of such a thing.

"You haven't? Well, it's this legendary sea, no one know where it is but I heard that in that sea, fish and sea creatures from all over the world live together, it's every cook's greatest dream to find it. It's like treasure for us." His tone was all childish and dreamy, looking far out as if he could already see it.

Zoro did not understand. _W__hy was this so important? It's just fish, right?_ But he wasn't the one to judge, a dream differs from every person and just because he couldn't comprehend the blonde's dream didn't mean it wasn't important.

"Why don't you go after it?" He asked Sanji. Nami's face glowered at Zoro after the question slipped out of his lips.

Abruptly, the blonde's face dropped and his voice lowered a bit, "because, it's not real. It's a legend. Someone I knew in the past told me about it but he wasn't serious. I know it's not real"

"Stupid, what if it is? You can't just give up like that," Zoro fiercely retorted. It felt as Sanji was cowardly backing out.

The blonde slammed the chopsticks onto the table. "Why the hell do you believe in it? It's a fairy tale or one of those urban legends."

"Well prove it then! Prove that it's a legend! Tell me that after you search every corners of the sea." He told Sanji, for some reason, he felt so strong about it. His own dream was impossible but no one gave up on him. No one should give up on Sanji either.

The blue eye just stared back in astonishment. His mouth was open with no response. It was as if Zoro just struck a nerve and Sanji could no longer function.

"Uh yeah, Sanji, can I get seconds on these noodles?" Nami broke the silence, snapping Sanji out of his shocked state.

"Of course Nami-san." He responded as he complied with her wishes.

The dinner went smoothly afterwards, Zoro and Sanji spoke little towards each other and the two women avoided the topic. Kuina continued to stare curiously at Zoro's way here and there but she didn't say anything. They watched men in black afterwards while drinking beer bottles and continued to discuss random facts about themselves. Nami even suggested in playing never have I ever but Zoro rejected it stating that it was stupid. Only Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp would be the ones childish enough to play games at their age.

When the movie was finished, Nami suggested to Sanji that they walk home together, saying that she feels like having a chat with the blonde haired man.

They waved goodbye to Kuina and Zoro. The reason his lover stayed was because she acceded to aid Zoro in washing his dishes but that was possibly an excuse she used to get them alone.

The red haired woman obviously got the hint.

"Hey Zoro?" Kuina said after Zoro placed the last plate into the cabinet.

"Hm?"

"Do you like Sanji?" She asked with her brown eyes. He was about to laugh it off thinking it was a joke but she was completely and utterly solemn.

Zoro stared at the woman, "I guess? He's earnest and kind hearted even though he is annoying at times."

"You know what I mean, do you feel attraction toward him?" She asked again, this time more stern.

"Of course not, why would I? He's..." _a guy. _He left unsaid. Then Zoro out of the blue remembered someone telling him to love a person by their heart not their outer appearance. Gender was part of a person's outer appearance.

Kuina got the hint of his next word, "It's okay, you should go after someone you love. Even if that person's not me." Her voice sounded strong but at the last word, it cracked, revealing her actual feelings, despondency.

The green haired man kissed his lovers forehead to reassure her, "I love you and no one else in the world could change that." His arms wrapped around the smaller body of the woman, gently pressing her against him. Zoro hated making her feel unhappy.

"I love you too," Kuina told him with such passion in her voice that it stung Zoro a bit. He for some reason felt guilty. As Kuina's arms comfortably wrapped around his neck, her lips traveled upward to meet the familiar taste of her lover's.

Zoro met her needs by eagerly kissing back. Everything was fine as long as Kuina was right next him. But deep inside his mind, a wistful thought peeked in, it awfully sounded like Sanji asking why Zoro was denying his true feeling but he disregarded the voice as the small peck became much deeper.

Their tongues danced against another playfully and the inner part of his lover's mouth tasted vehemently delicious. Zoro didn't know how it happened but they were on the floor and their situation became far more intense. His hands were traveling across her supple skin, unbuttoning her floral shirt as his hands traveled toward her sensitive spot.

His lover broke apart the kiss for one moment to moan tenderly, that sound was better than any woman from Ace's erotic videos. It turned Zoro on infinitely and he was completely fine with losing his control over his body if it meant pleasing Kuina.

Then a thought interrupted the moment.

They were on the cold hard floor and Zoro knew what was about to happen, he wasn't brainless. And he was not going to let their first time be on the kitchen floor. Zoro scooped Kuina up, their lips never parting as he headed for the bedroom.

Neither of them noticed the set of keys that were left by the blonde on the kitchen counter.

**AN: **Omg that came out way too detailed than necessary. I was about to continue it too! Sorry for the cliffhanger everyone, it'll soon lead into this cruel plot I have planned out. And I love making my Robin mysterious because she is! Oh and for the first time, I did it from Kuina's point of view, trying my best to not make her the villain because she isn't. I was going to make Sanji's dream different in my story but I decided to stay close to the actual Sanji, it would make it a lot more complicated if I changed it up too much. And for those who are expecting smut next chapter, I'm sorry to say that I refuse to write smut about Zoro x Kuina. I'll be adding small details but that's it. Zosan! Zosan! *chants*


	12. Chapter 12

_Shit..._

He left his fucking house keys at Zoro's house and he only realized it just now. _You fucking retard!_ Sanji really was a retard for forgetting such an important object. Now he had to go all the way back to the house and interrupt the two who were probably having an intimate moment.

"Sorry Nami-san, I forgot my keys at marimo's house, you should go on ahead, it's my fault anyways." He told the beautiful woman. They were actually having a nice conversation about her future, her dream, which was to travel all around the world to draw a world map of her own. She wanted to discover new places, places that no one has seen nor been to. The topic was fairly interesting but the blonde had to head back or he would be locked out of his own house.

"Wait, Sanji-kun!" She called out as he started heading back to Zoro's house.

Sanji glanced back at the frowning woman, her opinion of him probably dropped immensely. He was leaving her at this late hour in this dangerous neighborhood. How stupid of him. "Ah, sorry Nami-san, I can be very ignorant at times. We should call a taxi so you'll get home safely." He suggested, satisfied that he figured this out before leaving.

But the frown on the woman's face engraved further, "I'm fine Sanji, sometimes I wish you would worry about yourself more than others." She told him with her arms crossed. Even if her words cut through like a knife. her expression was tender. "You can sleepover at my house tonight, just go tomorrow."

Really, she was such a compassionate friend but this was very unnecessary. Sanji was just going to pick up his keys and head back out,_ right?_ "I'm so happy that you worry for me but Nami-san, it's really alright." He reassured her.

Nami's face loosened and she sighed heavily, giving up. She knew that once the blonde rejects her suggestions the first time, there's no hope at all in convincing him. "Fine Sanji-kun and I can walk home by myself. After all, few years ago, Luffy taught me how to fight." She told him with a wink at the end.

The blonde felt distaste toward himself for leaving the woman in the dark but he didn't want to be overprotective of her. He knew it offended women when he coddled or cosseted them too much.

"Get home safely Nami-san, call me if any bastards get near you. I'll run to wherever you are in matter of seconds." Sanji reminded her fiercely, letting her know that he was still her shining knight in armour.

She smiled gently and for a second, there was sympathy in her eyes, "Bye bye." Then she turned as her short hair blew with the night air breeze.

He ran back full speed toward marimo's house, the wind wheezed by his ears as his breathe tried to stay steady. Sanji's thoughts were all mixed up, it confused the hell out of him. He knew the reason why Nami tried to stop him but he didn't want to listen. Sanji wanted to head back to Zoro's house to prove something.

_Prove what? Prove what? _A voice peaked inside his brain.

In response, he accidentally yelled out to himself, letting his voice boom over the silence, "I don't know!" Sanji knew he probably sounded and appeared as a maniac, running with all his might, yelling to no one in particular but currently he didn't give a fuck. He was running to his own death trap and he fucking knew it but his body acted as if it had its own mind.

But this was like a test to himself, to see if these so called feelings actually existed. Even if his physical self was unstoppable, his inner mind wanted to head back. But right at this moment, his body was overpowering the mind, bending the little will he had. These moments happened quite often actually. When his instincts spread throughout his body, he was unable to think clearly

He recalled earlier when he acted so strong and confident around Nami. But currently, with each step, his confidence lowered and in its void place, uneasiness settled in yet he kept running.

By the time he reached the house he already remembered the address of, he was panting heavily and for some peculiar reason, he felt scared. Scared of what he was going to see, _Scared shitless__._

_Prove what? Prove what Sanji? _The voice acted out again in amidst of the thundering sounds of his heartbeats.

He wanted to prove that Zoro and Kuina weren't doing anything. The only one Zoro's head was actually Sanji all along. It was never Kuina, Zoro thought it was her at first but when he met Sanji, all has changed or he had hoped.

Then the voice began to deter, _you've only known him for not even a week and you truly believe that?_

Sanji wanted to argue with the wicked side of his mind yet he could not come up with any remarks because this was his own mind. His doubts were speaking out to him and it was winning.

He lightly tapped on the door to see if there were any responses. When there weren't any, his hands automatically moved to the doorknob to see if it was unlocked and it was. His body dared him to move forward.

The door swung open to reveal a very dark hallway, he felt as if he was intruding which he technically was but his feet still carried him inside. Sanji almost tripped by some object underneath him but he couldn't tell what it was. The blonde walked around and headed into the kitchen where he spent most of his times earlier. He was thoroughly familiar with this place already since the place wasn't much bigger than his own apartment.

Before entering the kitchen, his hands fumbled around for the light switch. When he found it, the kitchen brightened automatically and his keys were clearly in sight. "Aha," Sanji let out as he grabbed his keys. It certainly caused him a lot of trouble.

He looked around, _where's that green haired man?_

Sanji was hoping that Zoro was either sleeping alone inside his bedroom or out driving Kuina home. Then again, Kuina drove her own car here. Sanji was clueless as to what type of a car she drove so he didn't know if she was still her, possibly in the room with Zoro.

But Sanji really couldn't imagine Zoro having sex or passionately making love to anyone. His personality was just so different from others.

_Why am I thinking about this? _He groaned as he started walking out of the kitchen. Sanji relaxed a bit, his mind was starting to act optimistic. Also he didn't want to snoop around this place, which would be just wrong. He came for the keys and since he obtained it, it was right for him to simply leave.

His hands reached for the light switch again. Then behind him, inside Zoro's room, Sanji heard a giggle.

A cold chill ran through his body and the atmosphere around him felt as if it froze because it definitely wasn't a man's laughter, it was a woman's. He tried to brush that feeling by thinking; _they are probably sharing a joke or something, watching a movie together._

_Do you really believe that? _The dark voice asked, much more clamorous than before.

Sanji's doubt grew larger with the curiosity that started to build within. And before he knew what he was doing, his feet started carry him towards the room, acting as if it had its own will again.

The door was not fully closed. There was a crack, perfect for Sanji to peak in. _What the hell am I doing? Stop! Stop! _He ordered himself but the curiosity had been already built. Sanji would not stop himself even if he could.

Before his eyes were behind the crack, he heard a moan, almost silent but he definitely heard it. And few low groans afterwards. Sanji already knew what to expect yet he still glanced at the scene.

They were both on bed, Zoro on top of Kuina. The green haired man's back was facing the door so the blonde wasn't able to catch the expression of his. But he surely saw Kuina's, who was lying underneath the man. Her arms were wrapped around Zoro's and the brown eyes of hers were covered by her eyelids, clearly in ecstasy.

Few moans and groans escaped from the two once again but their voices were held back as if they were afraid of someone hearing them. The muscles in the swordsman's back rippled and kept flexing as he continuously pleased his lover.

Sanji just froze there, who knows how long. He was in a trance. He knew this was way out of line, this was privacy that he was currently invading into but his feet wouldn't listen. They just stayed firmly in place as if telling him to suffer since he was idiotic enough to come here well knowing the aftermath.

The emotions, where were they? Shouldn't he be running out from heartbreak right now, like in those dramatic romance movies? Yet, he felt somehow devoid of any feelings. Maybe it really was lust and no more. That was why he wasn't feeling anything.

But deep inside his heart, he knew that this was more than just a simple lust. He didn't know how nor why, he just knew.

"I love you Kuina."

The blonde heard a soft voice and it took him awhile to realize that the voice belonged to the green haired man. Zoro said that with such delicate affection holding much passion that it literally zapped Sanji out of his trance.

The blonde stepped backwards little by little at first then clumsily ran out of the house desperately. The sounds he didn't notice that disappeared came back all at once. The mind that wouldn't run earlier was running again faster than ever. The images that he captured just now vividly popped up into his brain repeatedly.

_He said I love you, I love you, and it wasn't towards you. _The voice sang out mockingly, cackling at the end.

The blonde's mind kept flashing images and sounds that it drove him crazy but Sanji felt numb, the emotions rushed through but it felt as if his body was separated from his mind. His thoughts were floating through the atmosphere in its own little bubble as the body continued to stay near the ground.

The tears that he desired did not flow. After all, those liquids haven't dripped ever since his traumatizing childhood. But he wanted it so much. At least tears expressed pain and reminded a person that they're still human, but no such thing came to the blonde.

His heart felt empty and his body felt stupefied, soon the images and the voices died down and the only thing he heard was the dark voice that continued to mock him. He rubbed his eyes and tried to sob but instead of tears, sudden nausea hit. He gagged few times but nothing came up. And he realized that after all this time, pain was still better than being numb.

He lit himself a cigarette, or two, or maybe five. Eventually, he lost count. These tiny sticks, throughout the years, became his bestest friends. They comforted and eased his heart and helped him gain the feelings he lost. But even the tiny friends couldn't silence the mocks.

_No one's ever going to love you. Not Nami or Zoro. No one! Not even yourself! _The voice unceasingly sang.

**Monday, 7th day (last day)**

Zoro held the best woman in the world in his arms, she was breathing noiselessly. Her cropped hair lightly tickled his chest but it didn't matter. He wasn't going to disturb such a peaceful looking expression of hers.

The green haired man was holding a tender smile at the thought of last night. The love making so much differed from what he expected. He truly expected just a physical bond, it surely seemed such in the erotic videos he watched. But from what he experienced last night, it was certainly not just a physical bond but it was an emotional one too. It was as if him and Kuina truly intertwined with each other as one and explored each other's hearts. It was as if he shared his deepest darkest secret with her without speaking. It was really difficult to explain but he knew it was one of the best things he experienced.

He must've stayed in that position for awhile and when his lover stirred, they shared a light kiss, her brown eyes staring into his and all was silent yet they knew exactly what the other was thinking.

Zoro never really realized but a woman's body was really magnificent. It was definitely unlike a male's body, the curves dipped much more and Zoro now knew from experience how soft a female's skin felt. Unlike his own body which was rough and muscle packed, Kuina's was much more graceful looking and certainly more alluring to look at. Kind of like their fighting styles.

"I have to go home now, my father must be worried sick," she whispered sleepily.

Zoro merely nodded in response, he watched his lover get dressed as he stayed in bed.

Kuina kissed the top of his forehead before leaving. The green haired man wanted to pull her back into the bed to make love to her over and over again but he knew he had to let her go. As she headed out, he wistfully stared at her. When she was gone, it felt as if everything had been a mere dream but the scent of hers reminded him that it had actually happened.

He wanted to sleep longer as always but before he could fully go out of consciousness, his phone rang. No ringtone, just bells, he recently changed it since he no longer favored his previous one.

"Hello?" He answered in a drowsy manner.

Zoro heard a quick intake of a breath before the person on the other line spoke, "You idiot, you're clearly late! I have to go to the dojo now, just meet me there!"

"Sanji?" He asked, his brain yet trying to process what the blonde just told him.

"No, it's fucking satan. Of course it's me dimwit, now get off of your lazy ass and assist me like you promised or I'll add another week for you to be my slave." The man on the other line threatened.

Zoro rubbed his eyes, trying to wake himself, "Even in the morning, you're so sassy." He knew with that line, the blonde snapped.

He pulled the phone away from his ears a bit as the blonde screamed insults through the phone.

"Yeah, love ya too cook," Zoro told the man jokingly.

The other end suddenly remained silent and when Sanji did speak again, it unexpectedly sounded weak and vulnerable, "I'll see you later." Then the call ended with a click.

Zoro wondered if he said anything wrong but he wasn't too worried about it. _The cook can get over himself. _

**. . .**

When he reached the dojo, the blonde was demonstrating techniques for the kids. His legs kicked the air rapidly with such flexibility that it amazed Zoro to no ends. Sanji was an amazing martial artist after all, but he himself was pretty impressive when swords were involved.

"Ah! Zoro sensei!" One of the kids shouted, and the rest turned his way. Really, children were such bothersome things but he enjoyed receiving respect from them. They worshipped him and the ground he stood on. It was as if they were honoring Zoro's skills and strength. The blonde could learn a thing or two from these little creatures.

Sanji rolled his eyes, "Don't respect him and where did you guys learn the word 'sensei'?"

"I taught them," Zoro told him as he leered at the blonde.

"You late ass, I don't need you brainwashing these kids." The blonde growled at the green haired man.

"Boo boo! You guys are fighting as usual!" A familiar voice called out to them.

When Zoro turned, he met the two raven haired brothers walking toward them with glee on their faces. "Luffy? Ace?' He asked in disbelief, "What the hell are you guys doing here?"

The freckled haired man grinned at the surprised expression on Zoro's face, "Hey Zoro, we were bored so we researched where Sanji worked and so we got part times jobs here."

The blonde's face was shocked as much as Zoro's was, "Wait wait, you guys researched me? Isn't that like illegal? And I thought you guys were rich, why do you need a job?" Sanji questioned the two.

"Yep and we told you, we were bored and I need a training partner other than Ace" Luffy answered the questions as he smiled at the two shocked faces. Then out of nowhere, His eyes suddenly glittered with excitement "I'm going to explore this place! Adventure! Adventure!" Luffy chanted loudly.

"Oi oi Luffy!" Ace called out as his younger brother started to march away.

The children started to take up the chant, "Adventure! Adventure!"

The blonde groaned in annoyance, "Get out everyone!" Then he turned back to the kids to stop them from following Luffy's lead.

Even though Luffy was only two years younger than Zoro, it seemed as if he was ten. But it wasn't so bad receiving his idiotic grin everyday because that cheerful childish expression always lightened everyone's hearts.

"Even me?" Zoro asked the blonde.

"Yes even you, don't expect special treatment! Go to my house and clean or something." The blonde told Zoro as he pushed him and the other two out the door.

"Wait stupid cook!" But the door slammed in his face. "Stupid cook." He mumbled grumpily, he came here, wasted his time just to be kicked out.

Ace patted him on the back twice before chasing after his brother. Really, this freckled faced man never owned a break from Luffy.

Zoro walked out of the building, feeling somewhat odd. The blonde was acting different, very peculiar, which bothered the green haired man somewhat. The aura of the cook's was not his usual fieriness but it was rather gloomy. Then again, it wasn't his business. Everyone had their bad days.

He walked few blocks then with sudden alert, he looked around. _Where is this place? They keep changing the city, how annoying. _Zoro sighed, the buildings around him were unfamiliar and he had no idea where he was.

Zoro knew the blonde's address but he didn't know how to get there without his GPS. He thought about the surroundings of Sanji's apartment. _There's a supermarket with a red sign, a park with a basketball court, and a subway station. _That was all he remembered, nothing else came to his mind.

He thought about calling a taxi but he left his wallet at home and he really didn't want to call the blonde because he knew that Sanji would make fun of him for being so directionally challenged. Not that he was. The stupid city was the one to blame, not him.

Zoro decided to head back to the dojo and wait outside. If the blonde mocked him, Zoro would simply start another fight with him as always to change the topic.

As he passed by an alleyway on the way back to the dojo, he saw a woman cowering in the corner whimpering, "Please, stop it." She had glasses and was awfully too young to be threatened. Normally chivalry would be the blonde's thing but Zoro could not back away from others who needed his aid.

"Hey, in the broad daylight, are you serious?" Zoro asked as he slowly walked into the alleyway. The space narrowed and his visions darkened.

The small woman looked up and in her eyes; it held hope which the green haired man was glad to see. He wasn't a hero nor did he want to be one but giving hope to another always lifted his spirits.

Then the man who was currently threatening her stepped in front of Zoro, his hands clutching a gun. "Who the hell are you?" Zoro noticed there was a tattoo on this man's hairy arms that said 'Baroque Works.'

It always had to be his, well Crocodile's, stupid organization, creating problems for the society. He was truly tired of it and if Crocodile didn't have anything to offer, he would've never joined in the first place.

"Mr. 1," He told the idiot agent as he dodged the bullet by swerving to the side and conked him on the head.

_Amateur,_ he thought as the man went down.

Zoro walked out of the alleyway feeling accomplished and behind him, he heard a small voice. "Thank you." He of course did not respond, it wasn't as if he did it to receive gratitude. It was just another one of his instinctual whims.

When the sun was beaming at his eyes yet again, he continued his way towards the dojo. Zoro made few turns here and there but instead of the dojo, he was at another complete foreign place. _What the fuck?_ He thought again.

He kept looking around in confusion, some high class looking stores were around and the people passing by were wearing obnoxious colored clothing. Then he abruptly noticed an elderly who was about to cross the street when the streetlight was still obviously red. He groaned but his body rushed to stop the woman.

She yelped a bit when he grabbed her shoulders but before she could attack him with her purse, he explained the situation hastily. When he helped her cross the street after the lights turned green, she thanked him and handed him a bag of apples.

Zoro ate the apples one by one, it was lunchtime and he was starving so the gift from the woman was appreciated. He walked around again, mindlessly this time. The street numbers increased and he figured Sanji's street number would appear pretty soon.

"Wah! I want my mommy, where is my mommy?"

The green haired man clicked his tongue in disinclination when he heard the high pitched whines. He snapped his head towards the little boy who was crying nonstop. The boy appeared to be around the age of four. He had fair hair and freckles on his face. Despite the young age, he was by himself, no parents or guardians around.

"If you keep crying like that, your mom won't come," Zoro grumbled to the kid. Even though there were plenty of people around, no one bothered to help this boy. It seemed as if Zoro was the first one to approach the boy.

Automatically, the kid stopped crying, looking surprised at the deep voice directed towards him. "Do you know where my mom is?" His voice was girly like and without all the tears dripping down his face, he was actually somewhat adorable. It reminded Zoro of Chopper. Their large childlike brown eyes were pretty similar.

Zoro sighed and answered the kid with honesty, "No, but I can take you to the police station so they can find your mom." He expected the boy to start tearing again but he didn't. Instead the boy grabbed Zoro's hands and expected the older man to start leading.

"Oi, I never said to hold on to me."

The boy grinned at him, even if his face was still beat red from crying, he was beginning to look happy. Free of any responsibilities and worries, just like a regular kid should be. "I always hold my mommy's hand like this."

Zoro grumbled, "I'm not your mom though." But he did not shake the little boy's hand off. It indeed was very tiny compared to his own large calloused hands, almost a quarter of Zoro's size.

The boy swung both of their arms as he hummed to himself. The green haired man decided to strike up a conversation, "What's your name?" He asked.

"Nathan, you mister?" The boy stopped humming to answer.

"Zoro"

At the sound of his name, Nathan's eyes grew greater and such awe took over his face. "Cool! Your name is same as that sword guy named Zorro in the movies! Can you swordfight?"

"I fight with three swords," he told the boy, chuckling at the comment. He certainly heard that one before but most of the times, it was to mock, unlike Nathan who was admiring his name.

The little boy's jaw dropped and the utter shock and admiration stretched out. "No way! Is that really possible mister? Show me! Please!" He started bouncing up and down in excitement. No one would be able to figure that this boy has been crying devastatingly just few minutes ago.

The green haired man grinned, "I don't have my swords right now but when I become the world's greatest swordsman, you can come and see my fights. I'll specially invite you." He promised the innocent boy.

Nathan cheered happily yelling yay, then he suddenly calmed when a loud stomach growl was heard.

Zoro looked over, "You hungry?" The young boy nodded as he looked up with his eyes. The height differences between them were great as well. Zoro took out the last apple he had been saving, "You want it?" He felt bad that he couldn't give this boy more than a simple fruit but he had no choice since he had absolutely zero cash with him.

Nathan nodded again as he merrily received the apple. "Wait, this isn't poisoned right?" He asked with suspicion.

"Why would you say that?" _Does this boy think I'm a kidnapper or something?_

The boy glanced at him and back to the apple, "My mom told me this story about a witch giving this lady a poisoned apple. You don't look like a witch but she can change her appearance so I have to make sure."

This story was ridiculously familiar and the boy's innocence was hilarious. Zoro tilted his head sideways to laugh out loud, "Was this lady called Cinderella?"

Nathan frowned by scrunching his face, his lips pouting. "Mister, stop laughing at me! And no, her name was Snow White!"

"Close enough!" Zoro held his stomach with his free hand as he laughed harder.

The boy stopped frowning, instead a smile was creeping into his face as well and soon he was laughing alongside of Zoro. "Mister, you have a funny laugh."

"Brat," Zoro told him as he ruffled the boy's fair hair.

When they parted, Zoro felt nostalgia instantly. He had enjoyed Nathan's company but the boy had to find his mother again and Zoro had to head back. Maybe one day, if fate will let it, they would meet again. And if they do, the green haired man will definitely show the boy his sword techniques to fulfill his promise.

_Now, where am I?_

* * *

Sanji was already home and he had been waiting for about half an hour now for the marimo bastard. He already guessed that Zoro was lost but the reason he wasn't calling was because he wanted Zoro to call him first.

But Sanji knew that bastard would be stubborn as hell and wouldn't. Since Sanji wasn't childish like the green haired man, he decided to call first. _Someone has to be mature in these situations._

The stupid phone rang endless and at the end Zoro didn't pick up, instead a voice message spoke which irritated the blonde.

He decided since yesterday that he was going to act like his usual self with Zoro since it was their last time together anyways, mind as send the green haired man off happy. Well, happy as in Sanji's way of happy.

Now he didn't know what to do, should he go out there and search for him? Or should he call the cops saying he lost a fully grown man who was capable of handling himself just not with directions.

Then his phone started to ring, and Sanji swiftly put it next to his ears, Zoro had called him back, "Hello?"

"Yo," The green haired man's voice called out calmly as if he wasn't lost at all.

Sanji's eyebrows twitched and he wanted to burst out in anger again but he held his tongue back and spoke somewhat in a posed way, "What do you mean yo? Where are you?"

The green haired man laughed softly and the blonde's anger vanished, "I honestly have no clue. I see a store called target and some trees and uhh... People?" He said unsurely but his voice did not sound grumpy, it rather sounded somewhat giddy like he just had a good time.

"That's not so helpful marimo, what are the street number and the avenue?" When Zoro told the blonde, Sanji heaved in relief, "You're actually pretty close from here, ok, stay there, and I'll pick you up." He actually expected Zoro to be in another state or something because he was _that _directionally challenged.

"Whatever blondie."

**. . .**

When the green haired man was in view, he was on the bench having a chat with another guy who seemed rather ragged as if he was homeless. The man's clothes were tattered and even from afar, Sanji could tell that the clothes were blackened from dirt yet Zoro was sitting right next to him, not minding the appearance of his new friend.

"Oi, marimo!" Sanji called out.

The green haired man jerked his head away from the homeless man to stare Sanji's way. "Yo, dartbrow."

"I guess you have to go now, you're a nice lad. Normally no one's willing to chat with me because of my appearance. Thank you for listening to my problems." The homeless man told Zoro when he stood up to greet the blonde.

The green haired man turned back with a grin and responded with, "Sure man, just call my number if you need a friend to talk to."

_Shit, _Sanji thought. That nice of Zoro's, the side he was most attracted to. And because he saw it again, those feelings that Sanji tried to push down stirred once more. But this time, it was bigger, much bigger, this was a fucking tornado compared to the small breeze he felt before.

"Cook?" Zoro waved a hand in front of his face. Sanji zapped out of his trance and realized how close the other man's face was to his. Their lips were only inches away from each other and the blonde had this strangest urge to press his lips against the other man's for a kiss. But thankfully, before he could act upon instincts again, Zoro pulled away. "Come on, lead the way." He ordered, acting arrogant as usual.

Sanji reached for his cigarette and blew a puff of smoke aimed at Zoro's face. "Shut up moss, you're like a child sometimes. I swear, if I didn't keep watch on you all the time, you would end up on the other side of the country." With this, he took a bold step by grabbing the other man's hand.

"Oi! What are you doing?" He asked as he tried to shake Sanji off but the blonde's grip tightened with each struggle.

"Isn't that obvious? I'm leashing a puppy." He stated as if it made the most sense in the world even though he couldn't comprehend it himself.

"You're the child, wanting to hold my hand like the kid I hung out earlier." Zoro retorted but he had stopped struggling to shake Sanji off.

The blonde stared at him in surprise, "You hung out with a kid? Isn't that like pedophilia?" He asked with such a serious voice that he cracked himself up.

Zoro on the other hand glared, well that could've been his usual stares but Sanji couldn't tell. "For your stupid information cook, I just took the kid to the police station because he was lost of something."

"Just like you," he responded with a snort.

The green haired man's face reddened in frustration, "Shut up."

Their hands linked the whole way to the blonde's house. Even though they acquired stares from others, Sanji weirdly felt indifferent about it. The way it was with Zoro, the little chances and prizes Sanji obtained from this man really set him off. It was like he was in middle school again, innocent and deprived of experiences.

But what Sanji liked the most about this man other than his rarely shown nice sides was that he could truly be himself. He could curse this man out without either of them giving a single fuck right now. And Zoro was the perfect training partner, someone Sanji could go all out with. The best thing was Zoro could actually take it without a single complaint. Women were still great, beautiful, strong, magnificent, and still his top admiration but because of this admiration, Sanji would never be able to treat them as roughly. While with Zoro, he could do whatever the fuck he want.

"Cook, you can let go now, we're already inside your apartment." Zoro told him as he started to struggle once more. By now, both of their hands were sweaty so the other man's hand was able to free easily.

Sanji's eyes were entranced at the lips that moved with each word, it was just like any other human beings yet his was so much more tempting. _Snap out of it! Stop it!_ The blonde told himself but his eyes stayed transfixed.

"Oi, curly brow, stop looking at me like that and give me food. I'm hungry."

The annoying words helped Sanji turn away from Zoro. "Yeah whatever, just wait in the corner."

But Zoro stayed at the table, following Sanji's every movement. It really made the blonde sweat, even cooking wasn't able to distract him and that said a lot because cooking always distracted him. "What are you looking at marimo?" Sanji blurted out, he wasn't even sure what he was making anymore. But as always, his hands worked on its own. After all, cooking was as natural as walking to him.

"Just wondering, you know this is the last day I'm with you right?"

_You don't have to tell me twice. _Sanji wanted to say but he kept his lips shut.

The green haired man continued, "But we're pretty close already and that offer you suggested about you cooking for me if I keep you company at night, is that still valid after this week?"

Sanji was so glad that his back was towards Zoro because the expression he held at the moment held glee, so much joy. But he still managed to keep his cool, "That sentence sounded so wrong." His perversion jokes came out smoothly.

The green haired man's voice held irritation again, "Come on cook, be fucking serious."

"Oi, no need to get feisty," the blonde responded harshly but his next words came out soft and sincere. "But of course Zoro," Sanji accidentally blurted out the green haired man's name. His own heart jumped because he never called Zoro by his actual name. It was always the nicknames unless the situation called for it. The blonde threw back a casual glance at Zoro as his mouth moved rapidly. "Don't expect too much of that because I'm too fond of calling you marimo."

"Whatever," The green haired man told him but his face held his usual evil smile.

Sanji left it at that and turned back to his cooking. The thought hit him again, _today isn't going to be the end!_ The feeling of exhilaration overpowered his thoughts but of course as usual, a negative thought came right after.

_What does it matter? It just means, you'll get a bigger heartbreak at the end. _It told him and it was true. Sanji should just end it right now today, forever.

But of course he wasn't. He was stubborn as hell and he rather have the crash at the end while enjoying the ride. He did once hear a quote that said, "It's better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all." Not that Sanji admits that he _loves _this man. He still believed that it's just a phase but not on the same level as lust. Just a simple middle school crush that would pass by as quickly as it came.

When he looked down upon his hands, Sanji realized that his hands had created a shepherd's pie filled with lamb, a traditional English styled dish. It was still few hours from his usual hour to eat but Sanji wasn't too concerned since he had skipped lunch earlier and so did Zoro. The blonde decided to make a dessert to go along with the main dish.

_A trifle would be nice, _Sanji decided. A trifle was a very complex dessert, old fashioned like shepherd's pie, made up of pound cake addition to some sort of seasonal fruit pie topped with whip cream at the end. Maybe some sprinkles over the whip cream to make the whole thing rather colorful looking.

Pretty difficult to make but intricate enough to distract Sanji away from the stares he continued receiving.

For the next hour, the blonde was completely entranced and concentrated to his work of art. Yes, cooking was an art to him because it required a massive amount of creativity. How one has to find the accurate ingredients so it would blend and mix yet contrast each other to create equal balance with flavors. And further to this, the decorating of the plate has to be able to play with the ingredients' colors and shapes to construct absolute perfection. A true elaborate work of art he loved creating.

And the best thing about creating perfection on plate was seeing the person's face who consumes it.

Every time Zoro eats something of Sanji's, his eyes would glisten in delight and his pace became faster as if the dream would disappear if he didn't eat quick enough. And just the thought of filling someone's stomach filled the blonde with fulfillment and satisfaction. A duty as a cook he wished to achieve for the rest of his life.

"You like it marimo?" The blonde asked when they started on the dessert.

Zoro did not respond, he just grunted as he shoved a quarter of the trifle into his mouth. But as soon as he did, his eyes widened and quickly swallowed the rest.

The blonde grinned at the response and finished his own dessert right after Zoro's. "Since I cooked, you help with dishes."

"I'll do it, you rest." Zoro grumbled.

Sanji gaped at the man, "You? What? You _actually_ have a considerate side?" He meant it jokingly, well partially, but it came out more surprised sounding than intended.

"Shit cook, be grateful!" The green haired man said but his face wasn't holding a frown.

The blonde decided to go along with it, "Shitty marimo, what chu call me?" He tried to sound threatening but a grin was breaking out.

The other man's seriousness cracked too when he saw Sanji's expression, "You heard me."

"You wanna fight?"

"Hell yeah"

**AN**: Sorry guys, I was going to conclude the last day this chapter but then it again became much longer than expected so I just split it into two chapters. Also, if you're wondering, Sanji is not schizophrenic; he just has this evil side in his mind. I'm not giving him a disorder or anything, sorry if I confused you x.x Also, if you're wondering why I have such details on food, it's because I started watching masterchef and I fucking love Ramsay. Ahem *cough cough* Back on the topic, this chapter didn't really have plot developments because I tried to focus on character development instead. But next chapter, it'll have some emotional breakdown. Actually after this chapter, I planned most things to be angst with tons of emotions involved. *cackle* be prepared.


	13. Chapter 13

After dinner, conversations with Zoro as matter of fact went well. Of course some playful fights were in between but there were no true harm behind them. Sanji desired to fight this man when he was fully equipped with his katanas. He wanted to see the green haired man at his best level and he wanted to see how Zoro wielded the swords against the blonde.

But the only reason the conversations were so harmless was because it was on a less personal scale, making it easier for Zoro and himself. Actually, Sanji no longer minded revealing himself to this man. Just like Robin, Zoro was someone who appeared as a secret keeper, not a secret revealer.

Even if Sanji didn't mind revealing, Zoro unfortunately still did. The blonde believed that the other man was keeping things within himself, not because he held such a deep secret but because he was just uncomfortable talking about himself. Zoro was definitely a listener, not a talker.

It was one of his unfavorable traits but Sanji had come to an acceptance. He was still going to push for more informations but he was also going to be more patient since the lack of time was no longer a problem.

His pessimistic side of his mind continued to remind him of the occurrence he viewed the night before. But again, Zoro probably lost his virginity in high school just as Sanji did. It really shouldn't have been such a big deal but it kept stabbing the blonde's chest again and again.

Currently, Zoro was sitting on the floor, next to the large window as always and was deeply concentrated in his meditative state. As the living room dimmed, Zoro's presence lessened. It was like he no longer existed in the blonde's house or anywhere. He was still as a rock and so very silent. Sanji, who was more of an impatient and a restless person would never, not in millions of years would be able to do that. But he wanted to. It looked so damn peaceful.

The blonde stood up from the couch and turned off his TV, cutting Chef Gordon's advice to an amateur cook.

He plopped next to Zoro and tried to be as noiseless as possible and held the same position the green haired man had.

"What are you doing curly brow?" A sudden voice asked, awfully loud in the silence hanging over their heads.

Sanji closed his eyes and tried to fix his position again, "Meditating." He heard a snort coming from Zoro, and his own brows twitched in annoyance. "Bastard, don't bother me if you're not going to help." Sanji growled out, unable to find the tranquility with Zoro mocking him.

"With that horrible position, it's like you're screaming for my help."

The blonde twitched again and he had this urge to kick Zoro's head but he surprisingly stayed still, trying to ignore the green haired man. Then he heard a movement alertly to his left, where Zoro was. Sanji realized his hearing has been heightened since he was deprived of his vision, kind of uncomforting but his eyes remained closed.

"Relax your shoulders and your neck. Also straighten your back and your fingers, rest your hands on your lap lightly so it won't be discomforting later when your awareness is even more intensified" Sanji was reluctant at first but he eventually did what was told. It was slightly incommodious to straighten his back fully but he tried and remained in that position.

Zoro continued the instructions, "Clear your mind is what I would like to say but that's fucking hard." He chuckled gently as if reminiscing his past, Sanji again had this tinge of curiosity once more but he kept his silence. "Just focus on one word like 'om' and keep repeating it or concentrate on your breathings. This sounds easy but when you actually do it, it's difficult as hell. Even if your mind trails off, try to keep coming back to what I just told you to do."

_Simple enough_

Sanji concentrated on his posture once more before doing what the green haired man instructed for him to do. He continuously repeated the word 'om' and his brows furrowed with focus. But not even seconds passed by before he was distracted. An image of varieties of ingredients popped up into his head and his thoughts immediately tried to sort them out to see which one would go with another.

_Damn_

He went back to his single thought but this time he tried Zoro's other method. Sanji breathed in through his nose and breathed out through his mouth. At first, it was perfectly even and easy to do but soon it became unorganized and rugged and he no longer could keep up with his respiration, probably a side effect from smoking.

"Cook, relax your eyelids and the curly brows." Sanji frowned at the command, _always the insults_. "And you don't have to breathe through your nose and mouth, it doesn't really matter at your level."

This man was calling him an amateur and the blonde fired up, determined to prove himself of something worthy. Sanji focused on breathing only through his nose and it helped a tiny bit but it still came out rugged so he just continued on the mantra.

Few minutes passed and the blonde was actually calmer and clearing his mind became simpler. Then out of nowhere, his body relaxed immensely and his head became much heavier to hold up as his spine leisurely started to bend once more. _What the fuckkkk_ His position was shattered but he didn't want to fix it because that would break the concentration, so he remained in such way allowing his body to do whatever it wants.

However, he was panicking now and the thoughts continued to jab his head making him unable to live the tranquility. And when his eyes started to water, he decided to open his eyes.

"Pretty good for your first time." Zoro's rough voice spoke. The blonde's ears were still heightened so the green haired man's voice sounded much louder than it actually was. It vibrated throughout Sanji's torso.

The blonde rubbed his eyes to rid of the hazy fog covering his vision, "My body suddenly felt heavy." Sanji turned to find Zoro leaning against the icy windows, his cheek placed on it and a spot next to his mouth was fogged up because of the contrast of the man's hot breath.

"Because your body's technically sleeping but your mind is awake. When you improve your posture, you won't have the issues you had today." The green haired man told him, lecturing Sanji like a teacher.

The blonde chuckled at the technicalities, "Yes yes sensei."

Zoro appeared satisfied with the nickname, "I suggest you meditate when you're not tired or you'll fall asleep sitting up."

As the man droned on with instructions, Sanji found himself staring at the man's lips again. The way it moved and how sometimes his pink tongue would flick out to moisten his non chapped lips.

"But sometimes when you get too into it, that's when you can't control your breathings, not at all. Some monks died because of it but that's only for professionals which you're far away from. Even I'm not at the level."

The man was fairly few inches away. If Sanji reached out, he could grab the man's shirt by the neck to pull him closer for a kiss. Only few inches, so close.

"Oi, why are you grabbing my shirt shit cook?"

Sanji stared at his hand which was grasping Zoro's green shirt. He realized that he was just few seconds away from smacking his lips against the man's and for that reason, he cursed at himself for being such an instinctual person.

"I thought there was a bug," Sanji excused himself as he pulled his hand away.

Zoro grinned, "Yeah right, you are scared shitless of insects."

The blonde glowered at him, why couldn't this man just get the fucking hint? Couldn't Zoro tell that he didn't want to talk about it?

Sanji was an obvious person, if he didn't like someone; he clearly expressed it on his face. And it was clear to realize when he was angry or annoyed because he didn't bother hiding his emotions unless it was for a lady because it was pointless to do so. But this man was unable to read neither his face nor the situation. It wasn't as Sanji wanted Zoro to know his feelings but shouldn't he have a vague hint of it? The blonde was making it pretty obvious with the touches here and there. Especially with the hand grabbing earlier but this green haired man was oblivious, it was just plain ignorance.

"Shut up"

He stood up and grabbed the ipod that was sitting on top of the table in front of his couch. Sanji needed to blank out his mind by full blasting his music.

Zoro tapped the blonde's shoulder gently causing Sanji to jerk his head around 180 degrees.

The green haired man appeared lost and a bit pitiful resembling a lost pup. "Did I say something wrong?"

It wasn't as if Sanji was angry at this man, far from it. If he had to be angry at someone, it would have to be at himself for not being able to control his feelings or his actions. Zoro was the victim, he just wanted a simple friendship between guys and Sanji had to be the gay guy, blockading a wonderful friendship that may come out between them. Sanji had to be the fag.

_No, _he denied being gay. If anything, he was still straight with Zoro as an exception or maybe bi sexual, but not gay. He still loved ladies far too much to give them up completely. Didn't he still like Nami-san? What happened to his long years of love for her? Did it just dissipate?

"No you didn't, nothing's wrong, I just want to listen to music." Sanji dismissed the green haired man.

But Zoro stayed in place, looking unsatisfied with the answer, "Come on shitcook, you've been acting weird all day. Tell me what your problem is." He appeared frustrated as he scratched his head, tousling his green hair.

The blonde was yet again surprised by the awareness made by this man. "Wha-?"

"If you really don't want me around you or whatever then fine, I'll leave. Just tell it to my face."

Sanji frowned at the words, _what is he talking about? _Of course he didn't want Zoro to leave. He needed Zoro. He wanted Zoro. Even though this man wasn't filling Sanji's wishes, it didn't matter because he was still a good friend.

And Sanji lacked friends in his life. He had few acquaintances here and there, and some girlfriends in the past. Nami was his best friend but she had other friends to turn her attention towards which left Sanji to feel rather lonely.

When he was younger, he had fringe friends who he could talk to during breaks and hang out with, but only within the school premises, never outside. Every day, after school, he worked at Baratie, learning from the shitty old geezer, leaving no time for social activities. But it wasn't as if he was forced to work at the restaurant, Sanji wanted to learn cooking and fighting. He had strong passions towards both and in the past, nothing was more important than those. The only reason Nami stayed close to him was because he had feelings for her. Every free minute he owned, he used it with his dear friend. He eventually became much closer to her by having to take care of her which he didn't mind at all. Sanji liked being needed since that was what chefs were for.

The blonde didn't know what to say to this man at all. He was about to deny it but his doubts were right. If he stays longer with Zoro, Sanji would become even more attached and that would lead to a stronger wound to his heart.

"Since you're not answering, I guess you do want me to leave." Zoro's downcast expression pained the blonde which brought him to a decision.

"Of course I don't want you to leave shitty marimo, even though you're annoying, you keep me company." He tried to smile but it came out awkward so he dropped it right away.

Sanji sat on the couch and placed the headphones around his neck. The green haired man sat cross legged on the floor in front of Sanji, staring up with his deep understanding hazel eyes. It held the depths of human compassion and the true meanings of life, something the blonde was unable to understand. It was because he did not enjoy the realities, he rather escape into the dream world of his where he could truly be happy and forget the problems that existed.

"Then tell me," Zoro's voice was earnest and encouraging.

The blonde wanted to, really wanted to tell him his feelings but he knew he couldn't. "Just that I'm really confused about what Robin told you the other night." He lied but it was enough to get Zoro's attention.

"You remember," The green haired man asked, well stated, with a startled face.

The blonde nodded, "I heard the word organization and something about a deal. I know I shouldn't have snooped but I was drunk and out of my mind so yeah."

Zoro's face was unreadable, it was blank. He would definitely be the winner in a poker face contest. "Tell me your conclusion from what you gathered." The voice was steady and very monotone, indecipherable just like his expression.

Sanji stared intensely at the man, he wanted to brush his fingers against Zoro's cheeks to see if he had any stubbles. A strange urge indeed. "I think that you're in an organization with Robin and Law and for some reason because of this deal, you can't leave. And, you're probably doing something illegal presumably with your swords." Sanji straight out told the man, to see if he was correct.

And by the way Zoro's face scrunched, it proved to Sanji that he was correct, right on the dot.

"Shit, how did you?" His eyes were buried in his hands and he was groaning a little.

The blonde grinned widely, "Because you're easy to figure out and I'm smart."

"Someone's becoming a narcissist," Zoro teased the blonde; his eyes were shown through the crack between his fingers.

Sanji's grin stretched wider, "Already am and proud of it."

"But seriously, this is unfair." The green haired man stuck his bottom lip out, sulking. "I don't know anything about you but you know too much, stupid cook."

The thought of Zoro wanting to actually know more about the blonde was so endearing. He wanted to know about the blonde just like how Sanji wanted to know more about Zoro. "All you have to do is ask." Sanji told him. The green haired man did win over his heart after all so he had to keep his part of the promise.

"Really?" Zoro asked unsurely, as if waiting for Sanji to say 'Just joking.' But when the blonde didn't, the green haired man put on a thinking face. His thumb was placed under his chin and his lips were resting on top of his index finger.

Sanji took this as a chance to look over the man, taking in every feature of his face, every line, the shape and the color of his eyes, and the muscular figure of his body. But he quickly pretended to be looking through his music when Zoro's eyes stared up at him again.  
"I'm wondering why you uh… Freaked out in middle of the night." The green haired man scratched his head.

_Freaked out? _The blonde wondered, _in middle of the night? _He realized that Zoro had seen one of his panic attacks, the ones he had during nightmares. Especially when he was reliving his past.

Sanji groaned, this was beyond embarrassing for him. The other man probably saw him as a weak feeble person who had major freak outs during night times. "You saw that?"

"Hard not to, I thought you were having a heart attack or something, scared the shit out of me."

The blonde raised his brows, "Heart attack? How old do you think I am shitty grass head? I'm still in my 20s and I exercise everyday! I barely eat anything unhealthy!" He let the defensive side of his loose. As a healthy chef, this was offensive. "If anyone can get a heart attack, it would be you! You barely eat anything other than noodles!"

"Excuse me! I eat other things too." Zoro countered poorly.

Sanji rolled his eyes, "Let me guess, takeouts?"

The green haired man avoided eye contact and and pouted, "Yeah." At the response, the blonde chuckled softly. Making fun of this man was just so damn fun."That's not the point! Answer my damn question you dartboard." Zoro growled.

Sanji held up his hands as if Zoro just shouted 'freeze!' But the blonde simpered, pleased with himself for getting under the other man's skin. Tickling that serious aura of his. "Alright alright, but it's a long story. I don't know if you want to listen to the the whole thing or-"

"It's not like I have anywhere else to go tonight," Zoro told him, "so yes, just spill it."

The blonde grinned. Strangely happy even though his tale of his dreadful childhood was about to start. But again, everything was strange and weird with Zoro. "Hm... How should I start this." Sanji thought and he met Zoro's eyes which held patience, "I guess I should say that I was also in an organization when I was a kid."

The other man's eyes widened, "You?"

Sanji clicked his tongue, "Yeah, but I wasn't really in it. My parents were, I just did some simple chores for the boss from time to time." As the memories flooded in, anguish did as well. "The fucking boss, when I was little, I thought he was nice. He even promised me a future. Since I always wanted to be a chef, he promised me that I would be the disciple to a best chef of the world. But of course he was lying."

Zoro's eyes remained firm on the blonde, giving him full attention.

The blonde continued, sounding more stable this time. "My parents were scientists, fucking geniuses. They didn't do shit like experimenting on people or animals though. I'm not really sure what they exactly did, all I know is that they were in the organization to help others. They always told me that they were trying to cure the society of its disease and by helping the organization, they can achieve that goal. Then, then... That day happened."

_The little blonde hopped inside the rustic building where he knew his parents were. He had just finished his chore of doing the groceries. Since he acquired discount from this nice old lady, he had some extra cash which he planned on keeping. He was thinking of buying some sweet treats for himself next time he went out._

"_Mom?" Sanji called out, his own young voice echoed through the building. "Dad?" _

_There were no responses but that wasn't so odd. His parents were probably in the room with the boss, discussing their plans as always. Sanji happily skipped inside and started arranging the foods he bought. He wanted to cook them just like the chef he saw the other day. The way that chef's hands used utensils to create such delicious meals, it was so amazing, not to mention, mesmerizing._

_He used scissors to cut through the peach bag. "Ew" He let out when his hands touched a mushy peach, disgustingly brown and gooey. The blonde boy threw the peach into the garbage can._

_Out of nowhere, he heard a scream. Not just any scream but his mother's._

_Sanji ran towards the scream, even in his young mind, he knew something was wrong. When he reached the room, Sanji spotted his father lying on the carpet, holding his stomach. And something red slid out through the crack of his fingers, something that awfully resembled blood._

"_Dad?" He asked quietly, shocked beyond belief. His mind was blank and the red liquid was all he focused on until he heard a laugh._

"_Kuhahahaha, you really thought we were bringing peace to the world? Foolish. All I want are the deadly weapons that exist around the world. If only you just kept your mouth shut and continued working for me. But tt doesn't matter, other than you two, I have other scientists whom I can use." _

_The young boy slowly looked up, eyes very wide from fear and shock, looking up at the man he once admired who currently held a gun aimed towards his father. "S-stop it." He whispered, it sounded barely audible and very dry. _

"_Stop this! We will not breathe a word about this horrible plan of yours if you just let us go." A woman's voice rang. Sanji's own mother was standing in between her husband and the gun. She was shaking but her voice did not tremor, not even once._

_While his mother's life was on the line, Sanji did not move. He was too stunned from fear._

"_Woman, move or you will die." The boss' voice threatened, his voice was cold and ruthless. The black eyes of his were dark as coal, matching the dreadful expression of his. _

_But his mother did not move and the last thing Sanji saw was her proud back before she fell to the ground, crumpling to the floor after a loud gunshot. Underneath her unmoving body, crimson colors spread out the carpet as if a talented artist decided to paint a cruel beautiful picture. _

_The young boy panicked, he ran toward his mother, crying hysterically, and shouting 'mom' over and over again. But she remained still and silent as if she was a statue. The blood continued to spread and Sanji eventually was covered in it. He wanted to stop his mother's death because his parents were the only ones he had in this world. _

_His father was still on the ground, shouting Sanji's mother's name with a maddened voice. But the woman continued to be unresponsive._

"_How heartbreaking, such a tragedy isn't it? Shakespeare would be ashamed of his play if he saw this." The man with a gun said mockingly, appearing smug. _

_His father suddenly stood up, still clutching his stomach. "You son of a bitch, you killed my wife! You will pay!" Then he charged._

_For a split second, the boss seemed alarmed; the straight face he normally owned was drawn back as panic took over. He kept firing at Sanji's father but every attempt was futile. The blonde man continued to charge with pure hatred. Then right before he could deliver a punch, the boy's father dropped. _

_Sanji ran toward his father who was still alive but barely. "Dad!" Sanji started to sob, he just lost both of his parents and he couldn't do anything about it. "Dad don't die!" His voice cracked._

_The blonde man, with his last strength, brushed his son's hair out of his face. "S-sanji, your mother and I love you, don't forget that." And with that, his arm dropped and his head fell sideways. And he appeared peaceful as if he was just going to take a little nap. _

"_Dad..." Sanji whimpered, wanting his parents back. Wanting this to be a dream, a horrible nightmare he wished to awake from. _

"_Kuhahahaha, I'll spare your life since they died for you. Just do chores for me as always, I order you to clean these two worthless bodies up and take them to the garbage disposals where they belong." Then the man laughed again, clearly amused at his own jokes._

_But Sanji had snapped, his hand was still clutching the scissor from earlier and his mind was becoming blank again but this time out of resentment. He charged holding the scissor up, wanting to kill this man so badly. He wanted to revenge his parents._

_However, before Sanji could even touch him, the man smacked him hard against his cheek and the next thing the boy knew was that he was skidding again the carpet floor. _

"_Worthless… Take him away," the man ordered as he pressed a button. _

Sanji stopped there, it was too painful. Sure it was painful thinking about it but talking about it was a whole different story. The memories hit him harder and the actual thought about revealing this to someone else made him feel so vulnerable.

He expected to be judged or pitied with but what he saw in Zoro's face was neither. In his face, it held envy and encouragement. Then he spoke tenderly, "Even after all that, you still manage to smile."

Sanji stared at the man. The reaction was so unexpected yet expected of this man. "It still haunts me though." Dry sobs started to clog up his throat.

"Anyone would be after that." The green haired man rested his hand on top of Sanji's lap, silently telling him that he was not alone.

Everything about Zoro, his expression, eyes, voice, and the actions, it held concern. It made Sanji feel as if Zoro actually liked him for who he was and accepted his past as something that was part of the blonde. It gave him courage to continue the story and finish it

"I was locked up in this basement sort of a room and I was treated like a prisoner. There was a slot hole for them to push the tray of food in but the food was so little. I had one meal every day and it wasn't even worth being called a meal. It was just some broth mixed with random shit, something they would feed the pigs, they fed me."

"_Here you go," the guard said as he pushed the tray inside the room._

_Sanji hungrily grabbed the bowl and downed it all in one gulp, it was not satisfying at all. After he licked every__content__s__ left of the broth, he threw the bowl against the wall harshly. _

_Days and nights passed without him knowing and every single day was another 24 hours in hell where he had to suffer this dreadful hunger and loneliness. The __sudden__ drop in temperature __in middle of the night with__t__he unknown things in the darkness and the paranoia that began to set place. _

_Every night he dreamt of his parent's death and every time he awoke, he hoped that everything was a dream but it wasn't. During his time alone in the basement, he reminisced about the past where everything was perfect for him. And if that became too depressing, he would dream of All Blue or a fantasy world. __Anything__ that caught his attention away from this agony._

_Then one day, he decided to escape. Sanji was determined to break free. Even though he was afraid of being caught, it no longer mattered. it wasn't worth living like this. _

_He searched every corner of the place. He moved some heavy wooden stuff around to see if there were any openings to outside. After hours of searching, he finally found a crack on the wall, hidden away in the corner, behind many furnitures that he had to move. The opening was small but enough to fit his skinny body through._

"So you escaped?" The green haired man asked with hope, hooked onto the story of Sanji's past.

Sanji was smoking now, he let out a puff of smoke as he answered, "I did but I was caught again."

"Fuck," Zoro answered, his face fell at the misfortune of the story. "What happened when you were caught?" He asked painstakingly.

"I was put into that damn basement again but this time, they sealed the crack that I found. And the food sources were lessened. It was worse than the first time. Zoro-" The blonde's voice halted and after few seconds, he continued but his next words came out as a whisper, "I wanted to die so much, it was torture. All the foods that I threw out in the past came back to haunt me. I couldn't even think about my parents anymore because that starvation was so fucking horrible. I wouldn't wish that death on anyone."

Zoro's hand was back on Sanji's lap again, "That's what I admire about you, you don't crumble under your past. You take that to the next level and help everyone else so they wouldn't experience anything like you did." His voice was fierce and not a drop of a lie was behind them. He sounded extremely honest and sincere.

The words were so touching that the blonde felt like crying, really crying. He wanted to hug the man so badly. No one has ever said that to him before, such kind words that touched the bottom of his heart.

But he did not respond because he was afraid that he would burst out in tears and he did not want to do that. Sanji did not want to appear weak.

When he trusted his voice enough, he continued the story. "But when I was just about to give up, the old geezer came to save me. The head chef you met when we went to Baratie." His voice was still shaky but it was clear enough to be understood. With the excitement, he let out his cigarette out with a hiss on top of the ash tray.

"That chef? How?" The green haired man asked.

"He was part of the organization before, I think right hand man to the boss, most trusted. But he used to be really close with my parents so I guess he felt the need to save me. But thanks to him, I'm still here. He adopted me as his legitimate son and we changed our last names so the organization wouldn't find us. And he bought a restaurant so no one out there would starve. That old geezer feeds everyone even if they have money or not. But lately, only rich snobs come in, I rather have the ones who don't have the money to come but since the restaurant needs money, there's no choice." The blonde began to tell Zoro about the restaurant and his father, Zeff. His own face lightened up at the mention but when he realized his mistake, he stopped.

Zoro looked at him with curiosity, "Why'd you stop?"

"I'm finished," Sanji told him. "Thanks for listening Zoro," he also said. They probably have been sitting there for hours now because his back was starting to ache.

Zoro stood up and stretched and Sanji heard cracks, "No problem, I never really knew you have such a past. I'm sorry to say that I judged you without it, I always thought you were some womanizing cook."

The blonde grinned, "I am a womanizing cook but I'm that with a traumatizing past." He stood up to stretch as well.

"Bastard, I tried to be serious," The green haired man said as he playfully punched Sanji's shoulder.

They were so close to each other and with the punch; an electric shock went through the blonde's body.

Without either of them knowing what's happening, the blonde grabbed the shirt of the green haired man and pulled him closer to press his lips against Zoro's. An electrifying touch and immediate warmth began from the touch and spread throughout Sanji's whole body.

* * *

Zoro on the other hand was completely and utterly shocked, his eyes remained open and Sanji for a brief second met it. But only for a second, after that, he continued to explore with closed eyes to heighten the sensation.

Zoro didn't know what to do nor did he know what this damn cook was doing but he couldn't pull away. This touch, it was so comforting. Like drinking alcohol or practicing with his swords, it was something he enjoyed. The blonde's lips moved slowly but Zoro stayed unresponsive. He wanted to pull away because even though Sanji was a man, this was still betrayal to Kuina.

Then his mind emptied when Sanji shifted his lips slightly to deepen the kiss. It felt so addicting. And for a moment, he responded to the blonde. He felt his own lips move with the rhythm, feeling the other man's warm juicy lips. Then he felt the blonde's arms slithering around his neck. With that, common sense began to come back.

He pushed Sanji away and the arms that were around his neck unfastened. "What the hell are you doing?" Zoro asked as he wiped his lips. He was horrified and disgusted at himself for responding to the kiss even though he already had Kuina. He betrayed her for someone else. How could he do that? Why did his body move according to the kiss?

The blonde appeared petrified, his mouth was hanging open and his eyes were filled with regret.

"Why did you do that Sanji?" He asked more gently and used the blonde's real name to know he was serious.

Sanji looked as if he was about to cry, his mouth opened and closed like a fish and he kept backing away from Zoro. "I-I don't know."

Then he asked the blonde a question and dreaded the answer, "Do you like me?" Zoro asked slowly. He did not want to hear the response yet he asked because it was necessary.

"No, I mean yes but not in that way. Well in that sense but I am trying to not let you know but you already know." Sanji started to stutter, his sentence structure was completely ruined from panic.

Zoro sighed, _how did it come to this? _He did not remember ever treating this man romantically or sweet for that matter. The green haired man never treated Sanji the way someone should treat their partner, romantically. Even though he really liked the blonde as a friend, he also knew how one-sided love ached and for that, he knew he couldn't be around Sanji any longer.

"Sanji, today should be the last day we hang out." Zoro didn't mean it for the words to come out so bluntly and harshly but it did and there was no use crying over spilt milk.

The blonde's face dropped as if the worst expectation of his came true. The devastated expression, that lost expression, pained Zoro in a atrocious way. His own heart crushed for him. "Can you stay one more night?" The blonde asked as he tried to smile for Zoro, a fake smile with empty eyes, the green haired man couldn't refuse even if he tried.

"Ok"

And with that, they slept next to each other. For one night, Zoro was willing to give the blonde what he wanted or needed. Sanji used Zoro's arm as a pillow and relaxed into his chest, enabling the green haired man to smell the blonde's hair again.

By the breathing, Zoro was able to tell that Sanji was not sleeping yet. And he was still way too tense from earlier. Zoro used his free hand to slick his fingers through the silky blonde hair. He rubbed the blonde's temple to relax the pressure that had built around there and massaged his scalp to relax him into sleep. After about twenty minutes of the process, Sanji finally gave up and slept.

Zoro stared at the cook's face, other than the few stubs on his chin; this man's face was smooth as a baby's. His skin was milky white, a pale healthy type. He brushed his thumb against Sanji's long eyelashes and then brushed the lips of his that were kissing him earlier.

The red lips of the blonde's were soft and plump. How such passion came from these lips? Zoro had no clue.

He hugged the lighter body and rested his chin on the blonde hair. Zoro wanted to protect him, especially after the story of Sanji's past. But he believed by distancing himself away from the blonde, he will be helping Sanji into forgetting him and the feelings that exists. And the blonde would no longer suffer from that one-sided love. In order for Sanji to have a happily ever after, Zoro had to disappear from the frame.

* * *

When the blonde awoke, the spot next to him felt empty and cold. Sanji clenched the blanket where Zoro used to lay and hugged a pillow in replacement of the green haired man.

Sanji saw the horrified expression on Zoro's face after that kiss. That man was horrified by a man kissing him. _Of course he was! I would be too!_ He regretted it big time. He couldn't control himself! Once again, his body took over and ruined his life. Now, he lost a friend.

Salty water drops dripped down his face, making him taste his own tears. The loneliness was unbearable and the thought of never seeing Zoro again felt so bitter in his mouth.

Silent sobs choked out as the pillow he was hugging became soaked with the bittersweet teardrops of his. Sanji was clutching a note by the other man that said, _If fate lets us, we shall meet again but until then, don't contact me. _

It was the second time Zoro walked out on him and both times because Sanji screwed shit up.

**AN: **So everyone, I hope you guys enjoyed the story. This shall be the conclusion of everything. Haha, Joking. There's more to come, I cannot predict how many more chapters but I planned a lot of things after this. And my poor Sanji but I couldn't make Zoro gay for him when he already had a girlfriend, you know? Oh and I love you my reviewers, you guys make me so giddy :D Thank you so much!


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: **Hello my wonderful readers. I'm sorry to say that I had the biggest writer's block while writing this. But I promised one of the reviewers that I'll finish this within a week and hopefully, I did not disappoint. It was awfully challenging for me to write it in a limited time but I managed ^^ Now enjoy~

Each day passed by painfully. Everything reminded Sanji of the green haired man. Such as the children at the dojo, his favorite spot next to the window and his own bed which still held Zoro's scent. That metal texture of Zoro's which Sanji came to love.

All these things triggered memories with Zoro, vividly flashing into his mind, just enough to drive him absolutely insane.

Ever since Zoro left, Sanji felt anxious and depressed constantly. It was so bad that it began to affect his eating and sleeping habits after a week of their separation. Sanji lost his pounds rapidly and started wearing the bags under his eyes every day. One of his worst friends came back to haunt him, a friend named insomnia.

He is very close with this disorder since Saji had chronic insomnia in the past. It lasted for a year and that was absolutely the worst year of his life.

When he had insomnia, it was as if he was never truly awake. He could never verily sleep but neither could he be fully awake. It was strange and felt absolutely dreadful. His personality changed due to it. His younger self was more neglectful, uncaring, and simply vexed at all times that it wasn't himself at all.

Sanji was afraid of sleep, more of the nightmares. The recalling of his parent's deaths and the devastating hunger he experienced. He wanted to forget, he wanted it to be gone. But apparently his body felt as if the lack of sleep would help with the forgetting process. Sanji once did think insomnia was aiding him instead of harming him because the lack of sleep emptied the blonde's brain, freeing him of any painful memories.

But eventually, Zeff put him through some therapy and massage session's everyday for a cure. That was when the restaurant had just opened and was ready for business. When they weren't making much money but Zeff risked his financial problems. For that, Sanji knew he had to become cured because he did not want the old geezer to waste extra money he didn't have on him. And eventually, Sanji learnt that insomnia was not a friend but his greatest enemy.

The blonde promised to never go through that again yet here he was; unable to sleep and always anxious and moody.

Even after the cure of his first chronic insomnia, it wasn't as if that disorder completely dissipated. It remained but rarely showed up. At nights when his imaginations played stronger than usual. That's when it happened. And most of the times, Sanji would wake up in middle of the night, sweating because of a nightmare. But Sanji became used to those dreams since he accepted it as part of him.

Even if he was still deathly afraid of reliving the past, he came to be fond of sleeping because when he wasn't having a nightmare, he instead was having a dream where his future was secure and he felt content.

But insomnia prevented that and he hated it. He hated the disorder and he hated himself for going back to the path once more.

Currently, it wasn't those nightmares that kept him up. It was this nervous sort of a feeling in his gut that continued to prickle him causing his mind to continuously stay awake. Even if his body felt incredibly tired, his brain prevented him from acquiring serenity.

At first, it wasn't this bad.

Even though Zoro told him not to call, he did it anyways but found out that the green haired man blocked his number. Sanji became depressed and shit but he still faintly hoped for an accidental meeting with Zoro so he could apologize over and over for that kiss.

His biggest hope was the raven haired brothers at the dojo but his hope were crushed when found out that they had quit after a single day because of boredom. It amazed the blonde to realize the brothers had that short of an attention span.

Then his next hope became Blueno's Bar, where Zoro and his crew hung. One night, Sanji decided to casually walk by and hope to run into one of Zoro's friends. That one night turned into many and not even once did he see the crew. So he eventually became impatient and asked the bar keeper, Blueno, what happened. The answer he received was that they changed bars.

Way too convenient for the green haired man. But Sanji still believed that this was all still coincidence because he didn't believe Zoro would run away from him, _would he?_

He became desperate and went to the hospital where Chopper worked but again was surprised to find that Chopper went on a medical trip to another country as a volunteer.

With each try, the rocks inside Sanji's stomach piled. It was as if someone was preventing them from meeting ever again, telling him to wait and see how fate played them. But Sanji wasn't the type to rely on fate because each time he did, such thing called fate stabbed him in the back.

Sanji wanted to meet Zoro badly. He wanted to hear those low calming words spoken by the green haired man. He wanted those rough fights between them and missed those laughers shared with Zoro. He even missed that mossy green head of his and the grumpy expression that man held most of the times.

The sweet memories of the past turned bitter and much harsher than the actual cruel memories he held.

Sanji held one last hope, and that was the kendo teacher at his dojo, Trafalgar law, since he worked at the same organization with Zoro. Sanji hoped that Law would help him meet the green haired man again. Just one more time and Sanji would feel fulfilled.

Sanji walked into the kendo room after he finished his own session with the children. Law for once was not wearing his usual bright yellow shirt that hurt to look at directly.

When the blonde first walked in, either Law didn't notice or simply decided to ignore Sanji because it took awhile for their eyes to meet. Immediately, the blonde asked him his question about Zoro, not wasting a single minute.

"Zoro?" Law asked with puckish eyes, "Did something happen?"

Sanji decided to tell this man part of the story. "Yeah kind of, I screwed up and he told me not to contact him but I just want to apologize and shit, can you help?" He felt pathetic asking Law but any dignity he had, he threw it over the cliff a long time ago.

Instead of what the blonde expected which was a sarcastic comment or at least a smirk, this man's face became solemn. "Sorry, I can't exactly help. Zoro just recently quit his job after all and we're not the closest friends."

Sanji blinked in shock, "What?"

The other man's eyes squinted, "I figured you would already know, it's already been few weeks since."

"No, I didn't realize at all." Sanji told him. He didn't really care if Zoro quit the organization or not but it did matter that his last connection to him was cut. "Thanks," he told Law.

This event happened three days ago.

Right at the moment, he was laying down on his bed, unable to close his heavy lidded eyes, feeling this strong inquietude.

Sanji didn't know why this was happening. Zoro was just this person who he hung out for a week. A week! Yet it had affected him so intensely that it was nothing he has ever felt before. Not even with his dear Nami-san and she was his 11 years of love.

Compared to this connection with Zoro, the one with the red haired woman seemed so weak and impotent.

But after the conversation with Law, Sanji decided that it was time. It was time to move on with his life. A life that held no one named Zoro Roronoa in. It was time to enjoy his life to the fullest once again and rid of this damn insomnia that continues to torture him and contort his personality. However, Sanji was not about to give up until he held one last meeting with Zoro.

The blonde decided to head to the dojo where Kuina lives to ask her for the green haired man.

**. . .**

Sanji rented a car from Zeff. When he walked into the restaurant, his father bonked him on the head few times for coming back but didn't make any attempt to throw him out. They conversed for hours catching up to each other's lives.

Of course Sanji left out the fact he became majorly insomniac again and lacked in nutrients. He used excuses as searching for another job for his loss of weight and the dark bags under his eyes.

It was an obvious lie but as always Zeff knew when to not question certain subjects and he just allowed Sanji to rent the car he owned without asking a single question of it.

When he turned sixteen, Zeff had promised him a car but Sanji refused because he was and is still too prideful to just receive something so expensive. If he wanted a car, he would save up himself to get it.

Sanji was inside the car, still deciding whether to really head towards where Kuina lived. It was wrong to use a woman so he could talk to her boyfriend about the kiss they shared.

Kuina probably already knew about this clandestine fact and loathed Sanji from the bottom of her heart. Who could blame her? Sanji attacked Zoro even though he had this perfect woman next to his side. Not only her but Zoro probably loathed him too.

He sat there, in front of the wheels and thought to himself if this should really be done. Would this actually help Sanji? He came across the optimistic side and the pessimistic side that followed. But as usual, he followed his instincts and surprisingly, his instincts went with the optimism and persuaded him to go to Kuina.

To fix this all of this, fix Sanji. And most of all, fix his relations with the green haired man.

His foot pressed the pedal harshly and for once, he allowed his instincts to lead him. He had no regrets. The view blurred in his eyes as the only thing he focused was the course, the way to Kuina's house.

And a single thought ran through his head, _way to solution._

**. . .**

Traffic was a major problem. Sanji was stuck in the same spot for about twenty minutes now and it was frustrating.

Apparently in front, the cops were checking each car to find some criminal or some shit like that. He didn't know all the facts nor did he really care at the moment, Sanji just wanted all this to be over with so he could go to Kuina's house.

He was thinking of what he should say to Zoro and Kuina when he reached the place.

Should he just say sorry to both of them? Or should he just make it up silently by cooking them something? How should he precede all of this?

He was about to turn on the radio to blast on some music when he heard a click to his right, the door next to the passenger seat was opened.

Sanji turned in inquisitiveness and noticed that a man with a bushy beard had entered. His appearance was awfully strange with those sunglasses covering his eyes and that dirty rag looking hat. But the strangest of all was the gun he was holding right next to Sanji's temple.

"Stay still and be quiet," The man ordered with a rough panicky voice. In his other hand, he was holding a bag that appeared tattered, filled with, what Sanji guessed, cash, lots and lots of cash.

Sanji rolled his eyes; he had to have the worst luck of all to have a criminal in his car, out of all the cars out there. He wasn't really afraid or anything since he could easily take this man out but Sanji didn't want to damage the old man's car if the criminal happened to fire at the wrong places.

The man continued when Sanji didn't respond, "I'm just going to hide in the back and when the cops come, you stay silent about me, you hear? One gesture of any type of a hint I sense, I'm going to shoot from the back"

"Whatever," the blonde responded with a yawn. He seriously didn't feel the threat around this man.

The man ducked behind to the back and hid under, crouching as low as possible near the car floor. But Sanji could feel the gun pressing his back, a warning for him to stay quiet about him.

Ten tense minutes passed but Sanji simply stared out the window, looking over at the view. He was in a mountainous terrain and the clouds hanging over the tall majestic landscape was absolutely astonishing to look at.

The clouds appeared ashy and grey as if a storm was approaching. As if something terrible yet beautiful was about to happen, just like his mother's death. A gloomy weather that matched Sanji's empty heart.

With Zoro he had experienced the highs of the world. He saw what was good in life. The blonde actually laughed, cried, fought, and cared from the bottom of his heart, something he was afraid to do in the past. That man somehow scooped what was left of Sanji and allowed him to act like himself. Sanji missed him so dearly that it hurt.

With no warning, a teardrop fell out of his eyes. That was another thing. Zoro had allowed Sanji to feel sadness again, something he was deprived of in the past.

Sanji reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette, not bothering to wipe the teardrop that fell over his eyes. His other hand reached for a lighter and with a quick flick, his cigarette obtained a cherry.

He drew the smoke into his system with a deep inhale.

"That smells fine, can I have one of that?"

Sanji's quietude was destroyed when the man behind his seat spoke with no warning.

This whole situation was fucked up but it was so funny. This criminal was asking for a cigarette stick after he hijacked the car, took Sanji as a hostage, and was pressing a gun against his side. What a funny person.

"If you take that gun out of my side, that shit is painful." Sanji suggested. When the blonde felt the gun loosen from his side, he threw one of his cigarettes behind him.

"And the lighter man."

Sanji flicked on the lighter and lit the criminal's cigarette for him. After all, he didn't want to give the enemy an extra weapon. "Dude, you're crying." The other man suddenly told Sanji after he had few inhales and exhales of the cigarette.

The blonde lifted his eyebrows at the man in bewilderment. _I'm__ not crying_.

Then he remembered the teardrop from earlier that hadn't been wiped off yet. "Shit," he cursed as he wiped his eyes. "Fuck," Sanji swore again. "Ignore that, I yawned really big earlier."

The criminal's eyes were covered by the shades so Sanji couldn't see what he was thinking.

The minutes stretched out and the only sounds heard were the two men deeply breathing their cigarette smoke as if it was oxygen.

Sanji couldn't help it, he hated silences. "So, you stole something." _Of fucking course he stole something, why else would he be running from the cops?_

"Yeah," the man's rough voice responded with his gun resting right next to him.

Silence again.

Even though the first try was an awful fail, Sanji had to try again for a conversation. "Why?" Sanji cared somewhat of this man's story. He always wondered why criminals existed. Why they chose to live in the outlawed world instead of a placid one.

"Why do you ask?" The bearded man asked in response, annoying the hell out of the blonde. He hated it when people did that.

"Because I gave you a cigarette." Sanji snarled.

The criminal's mouth twisted in a strange way and it took awhile for Sanji to realize that this man was actually trying to smile. His cigarette finished before the blonde's so he reached for the ash tray next to Sanji's seat to put out the cherry. "You're alright man and why you ask? Because I needed it, why else?" The bearded man told him with a straight forwarded answer.

"Why didn't you look for a job instead?" The blonde tried again. He wanted to understand a criminal's viewpoint in life. Their perspective of the world.

The man's mouth opened and his lips curled thin, "Of course I tried but the economy's very hard nowadays but I continued trying...Until the hunger kicked in... Man, you don't understand how terrible hunger feels. I fucking begged people in streets for little meat on some bones. But society is cruel to homeless men like me. So I decided to start stealing."

Sanji's eyes widened because for once, someone understood and he could not pity the man even if he wanted to because he knew exactly what this criminal went through. If he was in this man's position, Sanji knew he would do the exact same thing because hunger made people that desperate. "I understand," he reassured the other man.

"You do?" The bearded man questioned in confusion as if he couldn't believe that someone else actually understood his actions.

The blonde nodded, "Yeah"

"So you're willing to help me?" The other man asked with expectancy, hoping for Sanji to nod and go with the plan without a complaint.

But no matter how desperate the situation was, Sanji didn't want this man to live his life the wrong way. "No, I won't." He firmly spoke as he lit up another cigarette.

"Well you have to," He threatened as he pointed the gun towards Sanji's way again.

Even if this man was threatening his life, Sanji still wanted to help this man. He wanted this criminal to know that someone was there for him. Sanji wanted him to know that there was still hope for him. "Hear me out shitty bastard. If you turn yourself in right now, you'll probably stay in jail for a short time. Probably a year or so. When you get out, I'll give you a job at a restaurant and since there are rooms on the third floor, I'm technically giving you a place to live, a job, and unlimited amount of food."

At the suggestion, the other man lifted his shades with his thumb and Sanji saw that his eyes grew huge as tears started to well up in the corner, "Really? You would do that for me? A stranger?"

"Only if you turn yourself i-"

"Excuse me sir, please turn around and show me your ID and driver's license. There has been a robbery nearby and this route was the only one valid for the criminal. Not that we're suspecting you or anything but we still have to make sure." The cop boredly interrupted Sanji through the crack of the window as if he had rehearsed this line hundreds of times already. Which he probably had.

The man behind him ducked quickly as Sanji handed the cop his ID and driver's license.

Through the mirror, Sanji met the other man's eyes. They held fear and uncertainty but the blonde silently encouraged him. He nodded at the mirror, quietly telling the criminal to go ahead and get it over with.

The blonde heard the backdoor open and with the realization of others, the cops surrounded Zeff's car in a matter of seconds with their guns out. Sanji did not appreciate the cops pointing their shitty guns at the old geezer's car but he held his tongue.

One of the policemen stepped forward and ordered the blonde to get out the car as well. Sanji stretched, flexing his muscles. He noticed that the bearded man had already dropped his gun with the bag full of cash. Everything felt tense with the cops carefully preceding the circumstances and the way the citizens murmured to one another on the side.

Sanji's eyes met the criminal's eyes again and saw that it was full of appreciation. "Thanks," the other man whispered, faintly there but Sanji still heard it. It was enough for him to waste a cigarette, instead have the biggest smile in awhile.

"Go to Baratie when you get out of jail!" He shouted right before the criminal was pushed into the police car.

Sanji stood still as the car that held his new acquaintance drove away. His mind was still trying to figure out what just happened. Everything happened so fast but Sanji knew he did the right thing and for the first time in few months, he smiled happily, grinned until his cheeks ached. And not one bit did he regret anything.

"Sanji!" A familiar voice called out indistinctively behind him.

He was surprised to find a very welcoming face, "Ace!?" Sanji haven't met Ace ever since Zoro happened. He thought that the raven haired brothers were avoiding him for the green haired man's sake but apparently not.

"What are you doing here?" Ace was unusually wearing a police officer outfit but that familiar grin remained on his face.

This was good. Now he didn't have to use a lady to get to Zoro. "Hey Ace, that's the question I should be asking and what's with that cop suit? I didn't know you had a degree for that." The blonde acted as his usual social self towards Ace, friendly and talkative.

The freckled faced man laughed good naturedly, "My grandpa owns the whole police business shit so he doesn't care, I sometimes help him out. And I haven't seen you in awhile, you kind of look like a stoner now man." Ace pointed out to the blonde.

Sanji chuckled, he did have those dark bags under his eyes and that haunted look. "I haven't been able to sleep lately."

"Where are you going?" Ace asked with curiosity, disregarding the blonde's answer for now.

The blonde didn't know what to say. Should he just say that he was going to Kuina's house? But Sanji had changed his mind, he was instead thinking of using this raven haired man.

"I hope you don't mind me going with you since I was hoping for someone to drive me anyway." Ace's eyes asked for permission looking very similar to a puppy.

Without a second thought, Sanji just blabbed on, "I was going to Kuina's but the only reason I was going to Kuina's was so I can talk to Zoro because I had that argument with Zoro and now I want to apologize and-"

"What? What happened with Zoro?" Ace interrupted as he appeared extremely puzzled, either he was playing dumb or he really didn't know.

Sanji was shocked because he expected this raven haired man to know. He kind of assumed that Zoro told everyone everything between him and the blonde. But seeing Ace this confounded, he was wrong. And since he didn't feel like explaining, he used the same tactic he used on Law, telling parts of the story. "Well we got into an argument, I tried to look for him, I even went to Blueno's Bars but you guys weren't there anymore."

"Oh because I found this new, much more cooler looking place. You should come by! And since my shift is ending soon, I'll just go with you to see Zoro and Kuina."

Sanji wanted to reject the man because the whole plan was for the blonde to just use the raven haired man to get to Zoro. Not have him come with Sanji so he could watch the blonde apologize to Kuina and Zoro. But he didn't know how to say all this without sounding rude.

And again, he was interrupted. "Excuse me, you're Sanji Black right?" A cop asked as he approached Sanji. The blonde's heart leaped for a second,_ what if they think I'm a criminal as well? _"Yeah, that's me." Even though he was alarmed, Ace surely wasn't. His face was serious but it didn't appear alert.

"Sorry, you have to fill out some paperwork for us since you were a hostage, it won't take long I promise." The cop told him with a business like smile, reassuring Sanji, silently telling him that he's safe now.

Sanji breathed out in relief but soon became irritated because the paperwork took a tremendous amount of time; it went against the cop's words. Ace helped him in some parts but the amount was way too much.

The sun was starting to fall when Sanji finally finished. He didn't even know why that much information was needed on a hostage, not that Sanji was actually in danger or anything.

After the whole paperwork ordeal, Sanji completely forgot what he was about to tell Ace. But before he could think deeper into it, the raven haired man impatiently insisted the blonde to hurry and get in the car.

The car ride with Ace was much more enjoyable than being alone. It was nice having someone else other than his own mind as a companion.

The freckled faced man complained to Sanji about how Luffy was beginning to drift away from him, finding his own future and staying out late during nighttime. The protective older side of Ace's was finding it difficult to accept his little brother's mature side.

It was all foreign to the blonde since he was an only child but he clearly saw the love between the two brothers.

"So Sanji, what happened to you lately?"

Sanji glanced at the the raven haired man, trying not to take his eyes off of the road for too long. "What do you mean?" But he knew exactly what Ace was questioning. After all, there was only one major thing that happened to the blonde lately.

"I mean, you do look like shit, does it have something to do with Zoro?" Ace asked, using a playful mischievous tone.

The blonde felt his own face reddening; the mention of Zoro just brought his face to shame. "Of course not, I told you, I haven't been able to get sleep lately." Well that was partially the truth.

Sanji heard the other man humming, "Baby you can tell me."

The blonde laughed, "What the hell are you talking about Ace?"

"Come on, it's obvious that you like Zoro!" Ace blurted out. Then an awkward silence droned on broken by the raven haired man's chuckle. "Oops."

Sanji didn't know what to say, he was shocked but the way Ace was treating this, it made the whole situation silly. He was debating whether to really tell this man everything. Sanji was secretly a much closed person and rarely told anyone anything about himself. He believed they weren't much of an importance and it would leave him in a vulnerable state.  
But lately, Sanji figured that letting out your emotions came with a sense of relief. This comforting sensation letting Sanji know that someone cared in his wretched life.

"Bastard," Sanji responded but he did not deny the question.

"I knew it!" The raven haired man shouted out, making Sanji jump a little. "You guys totally have a thing together!"

The blonde rolled his eyes at the man's immaturity, "He doesn't like me so we don't have a thing together."

"Really? Nothing? How are you so sure?" Ace questioned Sanji's knowledge as if he knew something the blonde didn't.

Sanji was sure the green haired man didn't like him because Zoro was disgusted with the blonde kissing him which Sanji completely understood but it still hurt. Also, Zoro left afterwards. He wanted nothing to do with the blonde.

Sanji told Ace about the kiss and the reactions. At the corner of the blonde's eye, he saw the other man's face droop in sympathy.

"Alright," Ace accepted as he changed the subject quickly, "How do you even know Zoro is at Kuina's house anyways?"

Sanji didn't, he just assumed that Zoro was with Kuina because that's where he spent most of his time. "I don't know, they hang out a lot so I just assumed." He truthfully told Ace.

He heard a shuffle next to him and Ace was humming once more, "I'll just call this marimo." Sanji snickered at the nickname because he was the one who gave that nickname to Zoro. But the blonde snapped back to reality when Ace greeted the green haired man over the phone,

"Hey man." Then a silence on Ace's end but Sanji heard that familiar low tone. It excited him and made him feel dejected at the same time. "Where are you?" Ace asked. Sanji listened closely to hear more of Zoro's voice, the voice he longed for quite awhile now. "Good because I'm heading over there right now with..." The raven haired man stared at Sanji asking for permission to say his name but the blonde waved his hand ferociously, silently telling him to not say anything. Ace nodded and ended the sentence, "Myself."

Sanji heard a response coming through the other line and Ace threw his head back to laugh. The blonde felt envy because he wanted to talk to Zoro as well.

"Sanji, he's at Kuina's house." Ace told him after he ended the call. "By the way, what are you going to tell him when we get there?" He asked in a serious tone.

The question was simple but was the answer simple as well? Sanji imagined the conversation with Zoro to go along smoothly. He would say sorry then the other man would accept and things would go back to the way it was. But now that he thought back on it, it was so naive. Why was he even doing this? What could come out of it? There you go again; Sanji did not think this through and was already regretting his actions.

"Should I go back Ace?" Sanji asked, hoping the other man would encourage him to make the right choice.

But the raven haired man did not make it easy for Sanji. "Seriously man, it's _your_ choice. If I make the decision for you, it won't be your life anymore. Whatever you decide to do, I'll go along with it." He suddenly sounded like an old professor, it appeared so bizarre with Ace's police outfit.

"I'm going." Sanji decided with not a bit of hesitation. He would decide what to do when the time comes. For once, he wanted to trust his impulse and see where it leads him.

"Good, now let's turn on the radio." Ace answered as he turned the music on, very loudly. The music he put on was unfortunately a screamo with angry yells and shouts. It surprised the blonde to realize that under Ace's happy expression, he enjoyed listening to such tunes.

Sanji winced when Ace shouted along with the music; it distracted him from his driving so much that he almost missed the shadow that jumped in front of him. A shadow that had piercing eyes resembling a hawk.

"Shit!" He yelled as he stopped the car forcibly and abruptly, both members in the car gripped for their dear lives as the car decided to create its own metal tune. Luckily, the car only spun twice without even getting a scratch, that and Sanji didn't injure anyone in the process, not even the shadow that appeared in front of his car.

The blonde got out of the car with Ace to see what got in the way. He was surprised to find a man with very intimidating eyes staring back at him, unstartled by the fact that he almost died.

Right away he started apologizing to this mysterious man with a much more sincere voice than he would've used towards anybody else.

"Its fine," hawk-eyed man told Sanji, his voice was stern and fierce, compatible to his appearance. Speaking of appearance, this man had a huge some sort of blade like thing attached to his back, the handle of the blade was a huge cross, matching the actual cross necklace on this man's neck. A peculiar sight indeed, more like intimidating.

Ace suddenly stepped closer to the man, putting his slanted face right in front of the man's. "I feel like I've seen you somewhere, hm."

"Where is your manners boy?" The man with the Hawkeyes barked at Ace as he started walking away. "I have other businesses to attend to, I apologize for the startles."

"Ah, it's alright," Sanji told him, this man was unusually and frighteningly polite, strange to find anyone like that nowadays and that sword stretched across his back made Sanji wonder who this guy really was.

When the strange man was out of sight, Ace was still holding his chin with that confused look, "I swear I saw him somewhere."

Sanji was reminded of his first meeting with Zoro, how everything was a simple coincidence.

If Nami had never cancelled that date, he would've never met Zoro. If he decided to stay home instead of heading out to Baratie, he would've never met Zoro.

It was all just chance but Sanji believed, it was also fate. Something spoken out of the romantic side of his heart. He believed that it was meant to be because he did not regret the meeting not even one bit. Of course he hated fate in certain circumstances but not romantically. Because romantic fate was just so _romantic._

Even if currently, he was in much more misery. It was all worth it, every experience, every moment, he would not trade it even if it took all this agony away.

"Oh my fucking god," Ace shouted out when they were back in the car. "Fuck! Shit! Shit!" He continued to shout strings of curses as he took his phone out.

"What? What the fuck is happening?" The blonde asked, again disturbed while driving by this man.

"Shit Sanji, stop the damn car. I remember that man!"

With that, Sanji hit the brakes again harshly, stopping all momentum of the vehicle. "What the hell Ace?" He asked with a hint of slight irritation.

"Zoro you fucker, pick your fucking phone up!" The raven haired man appeared very frustrated, "That man! Zoro's looking for him, Kuina too! It's Hawkeye or Mihawk, the greatest swordsman in the world! Fuck, I can't believe I didn't notice right away." He told Sanji as he started to dial in another number fiercely.

"Greatest swordsman?" _Isn't that Zoro's dream?_With that thought, Sanji turned the car around causing a tumultuous screech and drove back with full speed. No matter what, he was going to help Zoro accomplish his dream.

**AN: **Aha, plot twist two chapters after this... Or so I think. You guys are very smart after all. Yeah sadly, next chapter will be from Zoro's point of view but I felt that it was necessary to know what Zoro thought after that kiss with Sanji.

And anyone that guesses who that criminal was gets a cookie! (I gave him a beard though so things wouldn't be as obvious)

Oh also, everyone check my profile out because Kdds drew a fanart of Zosan inspired by the cuddling scene! It really portrays the feelings of the characters really well.

-º∆º- Thank you everyone.


	15. Chapter 15

Zoro's brain shot out to space like a rocket, hitting million stars on the way. Heading to nowhere in particular, floating as if it was a nonexistent celestial object or so it felt.

He felt disconcerted, honored somewhat, and most of all, peeved. _Why __couldn't__ that damn c__ook __conceal__ his feeling__s__? Why did he have to shove it __at__ my face? _Zoro felt angry at himself for thinking such but because Sanji acted on his own feelings, their friendship had been broken. A friendship Zoro actually valued, especially after the story of the blonde's past. Zoro wanted to protect him and help him in completing his goals but because of that mere kiss, he knew Sanji's real feelings and for that, Zoro could not stay with him any longer.

It would be just wrong to stay with Sanji knowing that cook's real feelings, it would be like using him. In the past when Zoro realized his feelings for Kuina, he did not speak of it and that was mere torture itself. Just being with her and knowing he couldn't have her was like a trip to hell. That painful one-sided love, he couldn't possibly allow the blonde to bear with it.

But because of this separation, he was hurt himself. Zoro wanted to head back and pretend nothing happened in order to stay with that annoying, hot-tempered, funny, good looking, and inscrutable blonde. He wanted to do _something _but knew he couldn't. This was the end. After this day, unless they coincidentally meet again, no more days spent with Sanji.

Zoro was up for another night with his alcohol. He headed to his usual place, Blueno's Bar to remorse in peace with no interference and live with the booze clogging up his thoughts.

Because no matter what, he couldn't rid of Sanji's expression after Zoro had rejected him. That dejected expression and that vacant smile, it haunted him continuously. And a tiny voice in the very back of his mind unceasingly asked him 'why' over and over. But he didn't understand, _why what?_What is that voice trying to tell him?

He asked for rum to the bartender, Zoro wanted to get drunk fast; he wanted that familiar buzz in his head. He wanted to forget about what happened earlier.

He downed his first cup easily and the bartender refilled it for him. Soon not even ten minutes after, he was done with twenty cups. The bartender gave him free refills time to time but it didn't matter to the green haired man anymore. The back of his head felt void again and things were starting to go out of focus. It was a very nice feeling but the thoughts increased with much more complexity for some peculiar reason.

Zoro wondered, why did he kiss back even though he already had someone in his life? Was he desperate for someone else? No, he loved Kuina with all his heart and it would be too cruel to just abandon her in such way._ Then why?_

Maybe he had this tiniest attraction for Sanji, just a bit because if he faced the reality, Zoro actually enjoyed that kiss very much. He felt wistful but he fought that side of his mind and pushed the blonde away. Zoro secretly wanted more, maybe further than a kiss itself.

Maybe that was the actual reason he left, because he didn't want that attraction to grow into another level.

He buried his face into his hand and drank another cup, the overloaded thoughts were hurting his head and his emotions felt disturbed and stirred.

Zoro didn't want to betray Kuina but it felt as if his heart was doing it for him. He now understood why the continuous 'whys' rang, it was asking him why he didn't take the chance and accept the blonde. Zoro obviously felt guilty and cared about Sanji, it asked Zoro why he continued to deny his feelings.

The blonde wasn't the one for Zoro. The one meant for Zoro was Kuina, the only person who understood him fully, someone who experienced and knew everything of Zoro's past. She had the exact same dream as him; therefore, Kuina was someone who walked the same path as him. Someone who had the same compassionate goal as Zoro, there was no one else in the world who could possibly comprehend other than Kuina.

But Zoro knew Sanji tried to understand and it was all new to him because no one really tried to understand him before. Even though he acted annoyed and reserved, Zoro really didn't mind someone caring. And not only did Sanji ask about Zoro's life but the blonde also told him about his past, something he feared. He spilled everything that left him at the most weakest state, trusting Zoro completely. And the green haired man was new to trusts, especially from others because in the past, he never expected anything from others nor did they expect anything from him. But Sanji was someone who cared about Zoro, not only himself.

"Hey Zoro!"

The green haired man turned to see who called but his eyes kept messing with him and unfocused on the face of the talker. "Ace?" He questioned because the blurry lines had that similar raven hair with that overwhelming smile.

"No! It's Luffy, what are you doing here by yourself?" The younger brother asked with his usual enthusiasm as he pulled up a seat next to Zoro.

"What are _you _doing here by yourself," Zoro countered, well slurred. He didn't want to spill anything to anyone yet. By the slurs, it felt as if Zoro was drunk. No, he was never drunk. How could that be? A true swordsman never became drunk yet here he was slurring his words and acting silly.

Luffy's face became focused and the green haired man observed the young man's expression which was copying Zoro's. He was even tilting his head a bit just like Zoro. "I'm waiting for someone, I promised to meet her here."

Even if Zoro was drunk, that sentence was way too strange to not question, "You have a girlfriend Luffy?" He didn't mean it to come out so rudely but Luffy was like a kid to him and to everyone else.

But the younger boy took not a single offence, instead, he smiled bigger, "She's not my girlfriend shishishishi, I like her though." He bluntly told Zoro.

"Luffy! What are you telling Zoro!" A fiery voice called out, ringing through the whole bar. When Zoro turned to see who it was, he was shocked beyond belief to find the red haired woman marching toward them angrily, stomping her heels on the wooden ground. She met the raven haired man by bringing down her harsh fist on top of his head.

"I'm so very sorry," Luffy told her as Nami continued to beat the shit out of him. She was ruthless, a true monster, beyond being a witch.

After beating the young man into a pulp, Nami took Luffy's seat and smiled innocently at the green haired man as she intertwined both of her hands like the evil person she is. "Hey Zoro, I thought you were hanging out with Sanji today?"

"Yo, did you see that hot babe beating up that guy? Should we call the cops? She's cute but violent." A whisper that came out far too loud traveled to where Zoro and Nami were sitting. Apparently it wasn't only Zoro who heard because as soon as the words were spilled, the red haired woman snapped her head back towards the two men with her fierce glare. When she turned, the men pretended to look at something else while laughing nervously.

Zoro raised his eyebrows at her as he downed another cup of alcohol; he felt the content burn all the way down his neck. "I did hang out with him earlier," he told the woman.

"Whew, you smell strongly of alcohol, stinks." She told him as she waved her hand in front of her nose. "Did anything happen?"

Luffy stood up straight and poked the woman with a pout, Zoro had to admit that this fellow was truly gutless as well as fearless. "Nami!" He whined with a childish tone, "That hurt!"

"Shh Luffy, I'm asking Zoro something important," She shushed the raven haired man. "So continue Zoro, did anything happen with Sanji because right now you're drowning yourself in alcohol." Nami pushed for information.

If this was a normal occasion, he would've pushed her away saying, "It's none of your business witch," but it must've been the alcohol because he spilled everything that happened earlier. Every detail; his feelings, what he thought were Sanji's feelings. How he viewed the blonde's detached face afterwards and how Zoro felt about the face.

But the one thing he kept to himself was his realization of his own feelings towards the blonde because he was not ready to admit that to anyone yet.

"Why did you push Sanji away?" The young man asked with confusion. Zoro realized that this raven haired man was listening to the whole thing as well.

Nami frowned at Luffy, "Of course that's because Zoro doesn't like Sanji." She told him as if she was teaching a child new facts.

Then out of nowhere, the raven haired man slammed his hand on the bar table, surprising the other customers and the bartender. "I can see it in his eyes that he likes Sanji! I'm wondering why he pushed him away! Zoro, you're being a coward by pushing Sanji away!" He shouted angrily, for once, that childish expression wore off and he appeared to be an actual man. Someone much older, someone who understood life much better than anyone else yet acted on whims on purpose. It was the Luffy Zoro respected very much.

But it seemed as if Nami was seeing this side of the raven haired man for the first time because she tried to calm him down, "Luffy, I'm sure Zoro doesn't like Sanji, I mean that's so silly because he has Kuina, right?" The red haired woman turned to stare at Zoro whose face was a total wreck at the moment since Luffy hit the core of his heart with a dart. "Oh my god, it can't be! That's great! For Sanji I mean." She cheered out.

Zoro glared at the woman because she did not understand a thing, "No, I'm not going to make it up with the curly cook because I already have Kuina. I'm going to avoid him until both of our feelings pass because I'm not going to ruin something I already have for something unknown." His words were still slurring and his mind wasn't working properly yet these words flowed out of his mouth smoothly as if he had been practicing it over and over in the past.

The raven haired man appeared angry again; his eyes widened furiously and gripped his fist so hard that his knuckles started to whiten, "Zoro, because of your cowardice, someone has to pay the price."

That comment got Zoro going because Luffy was not seeing his side of the story, "Someone will always pay! If I leave Kuina for Sanji, it'll be Kuina paying for my mistakes. I can't do that do her, she's too important to me." He told Luffy, one of his best friends, someone he respected the most even if he was two years younger than himself.

Zoro wanted him to understand it from his point of view because he wasn't about to be called a coward, _again._

He was Roronoa Zoro, someone who could take a gunshot to the heart and still come out alive. He was someone who charged straight into fights even if he's much outnumbered. Zoro was someone who always did things out of his instincts, not afraid of the consequences, so why was Luffy calling him a coward? He just believed that this choice was the best for everyone.

"You're afraid of your own feelings and I didn't mean Sanji had to pay the price. I meant that you had to." Luffy told him with a straight face, his expression was not angry, but this time; it was earnest in way.

Through the whole conversation, Nami who stayed silent all the way throughout spoke, "We support you and Sanji's happiness. But at the end, it's your own feelings that matters the most, your happiness over anybody else's." She told Zoro with a friendly grin that was so unusual yet matched her face completely.

Zoro groaned, this talk was giving him the biggest headache ever and he felt as if he was about to pass out from drinking which certainly was a proof of how much he drank because he owned an inhumanely high tolerance towards alcohol. "I think I'm going to go home now." He told both of them as he clutched his throbbing head. "I'll take you guys on the advice though, I'll think about it."

"Yosh alright. Bye Zoro!" Luffy's expression changed back to his usual friendliness as he greeted the green haired man goodbye. It was a bit creepy to see the change in his face so quickly but Zoro didn't think much of it since he was used to it so much.

"Bye," Nami said her farewells towards Zoro with a wave.

**. . .**

Even though about three months have passed, Zoro had done nothing but act as his usual self. He hung out with his friends during evenings, even if Ace had changed their usual club to a more upbeat one, the aura stayed the same. And after midnight, as always, he did his night shift with his partner, Law. But most of the times, he hung out with Kuina, intensifying the bond between them.

Zoro was actually spending more time with her than usual, partly because he wanted to challenge the feelings he had for the blonde. Zoro wanted it to fade away. He wanted it to disappear just like Sanji himself.

But no matter how much he distracted himself, with friends, work, or even Kuina, the blonde's face remained engraved into his mind. With each second, the regrets piled up higher than ever, making him doubt his own instincts. It was all new to him, Zoro wanted to stay in his comfort zone but by staying inside it, he was hurting himself in an emotional way.

However, tonight was not the time to be distracted by these feelings because today was the last day of the contract with Crocodile. It was time for Zoro to become the greatest swordsman.

He approached the office he rarely visited. The mahogany door which had unique engravings was harshly knocked on by Zoro's fingers.

"Come in." The boss' voice said but it sounded as though he was demanding.

Zoro entered to meet a huge aquarium with unusually large crocodiles swimming all around their heads. But of course, the thick glass was preventing neither a single water drop nor animals into this large tempered room.

"Mr. 1, I can guess why you're here today." Crocodile said, his voice echoed throughout and his usual cruel grin remained on his face. "You're here to ask me where Mihawk is." The color off the aquarium was giving his face a blue-like appearance.

"Yeah I am, my part of the deal ended so finish your part." Zoro told the other man with a challenging tone.

Crocodile stood and threw his furred cloak over his shoulders and walked around. "Tsk tsk tsk but I find you very useful to me Mr. 1. You can carry out your orders with no fail as well as discipline the less ranked ones, why should I just let you go?" His grin widened and made the scar that ran across his face much more visible.

Anger stirred within Zoro because he predicted this, he knew Crocodile wasn't going to give in easily. He felt this boiling sensation at the pit of his stomach because of the thought of wasting two years on this crooked man and that plan of his which Zoro didn't give not even a single shit about. "Mr. 0, I'm warning you, keep your part of the deal or you will regret it." He growled out, luckily he predicted this and brought all three of his swords.

"Will I? You see I did not waste my long lasting years in recruiting useless people. I earned some useful ones such as yourself and trust me Mr. Roronoa, I have some people far more talented than even _you_."

"Tell me where Mihawk is," Zoro growled once more, cold threat hung heavily around them.

Then a fearful thought occurred to him. "Unless… You've been lying to me this whole time." His worst nightmare may have been true. He was simply chasing something that never even existed, an empty hope he tried to grasp and now he was about to regret it because of his idiocy.

Crocodile brought his golden hook and slid it down Zoro's Adam's apple. "You think I lied?" His voice sounded deadly. The green haired man kept his grip on his three swords just in case and did not respond. Crocodile grinned, "I'll tell you a little secret Mr. 1 since you've been very trustworthy. Mihawk is coming here in few months."

"When and where exactly?" Zoro's eyes lit because his hopes have not been crushed after all. "Tell me!" He growled once more, with much force and excitement this time.

Crocodile grin pulled back further as he held up two fingers, "If you agree to work for me for another two years."

That expression, Zoro abhorred it. It was as if Crocodile was seeing the future, already planned everything, and knew the answer from Zoro already. As much as Zoro felt desperate, his pride wasn't simply going to comply with this man's guesses. "No." He answered.

Zoro expected Crocodile to be surprised or shocked in some way but the grin remained as he lowered the golden hook from the green haired man's neck. "Alright Mr. 1, nice doing business with you." And with that comment it was as if Zoro had been dismissed.

For some reason, he did not feel satisfied at all. Zoro had definitely been played by Crocodile. He wasted two years to that foul man and earned _nothing_ in result, barely a clue. Yet, he could not do anything about it. Even if Zoro was strong, Crocodile was stronger. That man had millions of men under his control and Zoro was just a single person. Even _he_ couldn't handle that many.

He had this foul taste in his mouth that he could not rid of and an annoying heavy drop in his stomach. Zoro wanted someone to be there, right next to him. That person would comfort and advise him of his next move. That person would possess the most captivating blue eyes and soft silky blonde hair. Zoro even imagine this 'someone' to kiss him gently telling him everything will be fine.

Zoro ruffled his own green hair. He felt absolutely terrible for even thinking about this when Kuina was still clearly his girlfriend, his lover. However, no matter how many times he cleared his mind, distracted himself, or drowned himself in alcohol, Sanji's face would not leave his head. It stayed with him _always_.

* * *

A swing, a very powerful swing, enough to knock down a fully grown sized man struck. And with that, Zoro slid across the dojo mat, pathetically unable to get up. He grumbled as he gripped the spot where the bamboo sword met, Kuina was sure she left a bruise or two on her childhood friend.

Even though it was her win, she felt oddly displeased. Lately, it had always been like this. Zoro was immensely dropping in skill and power.

Actually, that was wrong. It wasn't as if Zoro was losing his touch but his concentration and focus. His eyes no longer held that usual enthusiasm, in replacement, it was starting to appear dull like. It was as if Zoro didn't care about anything anymore, not his future, swordsmanship, or even her.

It left Kuina feeling empty and helpless because she had not a single clue as to what to do next. She knew if she continued to ignore the clear hints, she was going to lose Zoro altogether. In the past, that was how she always handled things, by ignoring problems because things always pulled itself by the end.

However, this was different because in the past, she really didn't have anything to lose but now she does.

Zoro remained on the floor, stretched out appearing as if he had been completely defeated. His three bamboo swords were abandoned right next to his body and the hazel eyes of his stared far off like he was seeing more than just a roof of an old Japanese styled dojo.

Kuina felt this aggravation rattle within her. She wanted to smack that face of his and continue to hit him until those eyes were staring at her again, really stare at her and only her.

Kuina walked towards her boyfriend silently and instead of acting upon her feelings, she in substitute smirked with all the will that was left in her. "I guess it's my win again, Zoro you really need to step it up.' She teased and helped her lover up.

"Yeah thanks, I'm going to take a shower now." Zoro answered with a straight toned voice, expressing not a single emotion.

That was the only voice she has heard from him lately. That indifferent tone followed by those empty eyes and each time she heard that tone, it pierced her chest agonizingly.

Kuina wasn't the type to be melodramatic but for some reason, her emotional turmoil acted such. She felt like such a _girl_, and she did not like that one bit. For her, that was absolutely the worst insult. Because she always detested being born as a woman, she loathed her slender body and the curved set in between because it always got in the way of her goals.

But Zoro convinced her along the way to love herself for who she is, no matter the gender. And the times she spent the days with her lover, she was actually thankful for being born as a female. Since that was one of the reasons for Zoro to love her.

But then Sanji happened in Zoro's life.

It wasn't as if she disliked the blonde, _no far from it_. She actually loved Sanji's perky personality and his talent in cooking, so much enough to envy it. Even though at first she held a bad impression of him, over time, that impression grew into a much better one.

But Zoro held a much better impression of Sanji than Kuina. Without even knowing, he talked about the blonde as if he was his best friend. Zoro became excited when talking about Sanji and became defensive when someone else offended the blonde in any way.

It was very obvious to know that there was some type of an attraction between them but Kuina didn't want to accept it. She knew she was holding Zoro back but she just couldn't let him go. Kuina knew that Zoro was unhappy but this selfishness inside her continued to convince Kuina to keep her childhood friend for just another day.

Kuina felt that it was unfair. If Zoro had another woman instead of a man, she would've been more accepting to the situation but _no_. Sanji was a man and it was just another point to her that being a male is clearly better than being a female.

In amidst of her thoughts, Zoro came outside the shower half naked with his whole upper body glistening. "You want the shower now?" He asked as he ran the towel through his darkened green hair once more.

What frustrated Kuina the most was that he wasn't even looking into her eyes, he was staring at the floor. As if the floor would answer his question instead of Kuina. Her anger built with each second. This was a simple gesture, not a big deal. But it was a cherry on top to all these past frustrations that continued to build over time.

But she didn't want to explode all of a sudden because that would be handing Zoro a reason to leave her and that was the last thing she wanted.

Over time, Zoro became not only her boyfriend but a close friend to her as well. Kuina didn't want to risk losing everything, no, she _couldn't_ risk it. "No it's okay, you want to train more?" Kuina asked the green haired man in the most composed voice she could manage.

"Nah, I don't feel like doing anything," Zoro answered in a bored manner as he plopped down on one of the dojo mats. "I feel tired."

That's all he wants to do lately, sleep, eat, muscle train, sleep, then the cycle would repeat.

"I'll just train with the dummies, I can't have my skills rusting," Kuina implied towards the green haired man but the only response she obtained was a grunt. She sighed heavily and walked out with her favorite sword, Wado Ichimonji, feeling hopeless as ever.

* * *

A lean man stretched his arms out for Zoro to take, his face was too bright to make out but a pair of familiar blue eyes was shown.

Zoro however, felt hesitant in taking those hands because in the back of his mind, a voice continued to shout, telling him that this was all wrong. But because of that moment of hesitation, the arms withdrew and the bright face darkened. The familiar blue eyes turned bloody red as the visible cherry lips of his pulled up into a snarl.

He seemed to be saying something but the voice was so soft that Zoro had to lean forward to hear. "_Closer," _a deadly voice whispered.

The lean hand softly grazed the side of the green haired man's face, brushing against his sideburns. "_Come on Zoro_." The touch sent unpleasant cold shivers all the way through Zoro's vertebrae but the green haired man stood firmly in place.

Zoro leaned in further when the almost silent whispers continued to say something but before he could place his ear right next to the lips, a hand clasped onto one of his shoulders to jerk him back, away from the red eyed being. "Marimo you retard, don't be fooled." A voice that unquestionably belonged to the cook insulted.

A smile began to emerge within the green haired man's lips; he abandoned the red eyes to meet his blonde. "Who are you calling a retard, you dartboard?" He countered and met Sanji with a full grin. Any uncertainties and uneasiness left without a trace from his chest.

The blonde smirked at the response and stretched his arm out, "Let's go marimo and hold my hand or you'll get lost again." Even though the blonde's words came out insensitive, the pale face of his was scarlet, showing obvious embarrassment.

This time, without any hesitation, Zoro took the hand, "Shitty cook, I wouldn't mind getting lost if it's with you." He told the blonde bluntly. It felt so right to say those words, something he would have never said in the past.

And seeing Sanji's face reddening even further, it somehow pleased him drastically "Y-you idiot, saying things like that," The blonde sputtered nervously as he turned his face away from Zoro. And his other hand fiddled inside his pocket to pull out a cigarette stick and a lighter.

"It's true though, you lovable idiot," The green haired man daringly said to Sanji as he grinned wider. But even more boldly, he reached over to brush the blonde strands out of the cook's face to see both eyes visibly. "You have such nice eyes. I always liked your eyes; they remind me of the sea."

At the touch, Sanji flinched a bit but stayed in place, allowing Zoro to continue. "Are we going to talk about each other's qualities now?" He asked with a gentle smirk, stretching over towards the remains of the blush.

"If you want, but I rather do this," Zoro whispered to the blonde as he leaned forward to meet those desirable lips of the cook's.

His own eyes closed leisurely and waited for the tobacco taste of Sanji's but that taste never came nor did he ever meet those soft lips.

Zoro snapped his eyes open to see a dim room. His vision wasn't much from the aftereffect of just awaking but reality crashed in ruthlessly. The muscular arm of his was extended in front of him as if Sanji's face really had been there. Like nothing had been a mere dream.

He felt terribly null and void and the longing for Sanji intensified with each passing second.

Zoro covered his eyes with his hands and relaxed into that darkness surrounding him as he tried to recover the image of the cook.

* * *

Her phone rang about three times. She tried to block out the sounds but found it impossible to ignore. Kuina sheathed her Wado Ichimonji as she picked up her cell phone.

"Hello?" She answered, feeling the cool metal sticking to her skin thanks to the sweat glands running across her cheek. Her hands lightly trembled, in result of training for three hours straight with little breaks.

An unusual voice in a panicky like tone spoke, "Kuina! Thank the lord, shit, I tried calling Zoro but he wouldn't pick up, at such an important time too! I'm so fucking glad you picked up though."

Kuina felt a tinge of impatience since this man had a habit of straying off the main subject. "Ace, why are you calling me?" She asked. After all, she barely even held a conversation with Ace, this situation was beyond unusual.

"I was getting to that!" He snapped at her then continued, sounding more eager this time. "As I was saying, we just saw Dracule Mihaw-"

"YOU WHAT?!" Kuina shouted vociferously, disbelieving what the raven haired man just revealed.

Ace groaned in response, "Oi! You didn't have to shout that loud. Yeah, me and Sanji are currently watching him. He's inside a bar with this red haired man, I think they're going to be in there for awhile, just hurry up and bring Zoro, shit my phone battery is dying. Just come to that place where that bar is and that pizza shop and-"And the phone hung up with a loud beep but it was alright since Kuina knew exactly where the raven haired was.

She felt so distracted and thrilled that she didn't even catch the word 'Sanji.' Her fingers tightly clutched Wado Ichimonji and a thought repetitively crossed her brain, a dream that was believed to be impossible.

Without a second thought, her feet rapidly skidded against the ground, running at the speed of light towards her car. The only thought that remained inside her brain was; _I'm finally going to become the best swordsman._

* * *

Zoro remained cross legged on the hard wooden floor and meditated, trying to reach the state of serenity and tranquility. He listened to the breeze and the swishing sounds of Kuina's swordsmanship. With each movement, he could picture the exact formation she created.

It startled him a bit when he heard the rings created by his lover's phone and additionally surprised when she called out Ace's name. _When did Ace ever directly hold a conversation with Kuina? _He wondered and that became the finalization of his concentration. Zoro could no longer center his attention towards anything other than Kuina's conversation with his dear freckled faced friend.

And he slightly jerked when Kuina shouted with utter disbelief and alarm. Not even a minute later, Zoro heard Kuina's feet scraping the rocks underneath to hurriedly get somewhere. The green haired man was undeniably interested so he decided to ask her before she could take off.

"Kuina!" Zoro yelled as he hurriedly ran after the cropped haired woman. "Kuina!" He incessantly shouted out to grab her attention but no matter how loud he called after her, she wouldn't turn around. "Dammit Kuina," he heightened his pace to catch up to her and even though it felt impossible, Zoro's hands eventually reached out to grab his lover

"What?" She asked snappily with peeved eyes but her brown eyes widened when she saw Zoro's face, "Zoro, oh! I forgot to tell you!" Kuina cried out and all of a sudden beamed towards the green haired man. "Ace just told me Dracule Mihawk is here!" She told him and her voice slightly squealed with excitement.

At those words, Zoro froze.

This was so unexpected. He searched for this man ever since he found out about swordsmanship. He even joined an organization and pointlessly spent his years in it. This man, Dracule Mihawk, was his ambition as well as his drive so _why was he not ecstatic by the fact that they were about to meet? _Zoro wanted to feel joyful and thrilled but at the very moment, all he felt was rage, regret, and infidelity.

And without a second thought into his words, he said, "You were about to leave me Kuina? Knowing that I had the same goal as you? I never knew you were that selfish." He aggressively asked with irritation hinted behind his tone.

The cheerful eyes immediately lowered and in its place, bewilderment and desperation took over. "What?" Her voice questioned and it sounded so hurt that Zoro instantly felt repentant over his words. "Zoro, you know I didn't mean that. I admit that I forgot about you for a moment from excitement but it wasn't like I meant to do it. You know I want you to be the best swordsman as much as I want myself to be one." She sounded so despondent but even so, she tried to once more smile gently for the green haired man.

Zoro completely understood, he in fact understood even before she explained. "No I don't know," he sternly told her.

Her eyebrows twitched a bit and Zoro could see that she had snapped her last straw as her patience drew. The composure she had kept for the longest time had finally shattered. "Well Zoro, I don't give a shit then."

The green haired man's eyes widened because that response was certainly unexpected, he opened his mouth and closed them once more like a fish. Even before he could try once more to defend his side, Kuina carried on ranting.

"I should be the one mad at you! You've been treating me like a damn, s damn… Crap! Agh! I became too soft after going out with you; you're just a burden in my life! Why am I working so hard to defend myself? I was just happy from the news but now you've made me irritated again! I can't believe you; I can't believe myself for agreeing to go out with you." She continued to seethe and fume as her eyes shot daggers.

Zoro's head pulled back, distancing himself away from Kuina's nearing face but her extended eyes continued to near his own. "You can be such a bastard!" She screamed one last time but her next words of became all of a sudden hushed, "but I still love you," she whispered before kissing him softly. Her eyes little by little closed and Zoro felt himself doing the same.

Their lips locked and this sweet tingly sensation surfaced on top of his lips. Zoro felt his hands travel around her tiny waist as if that was the most natural thing to do. Their mouths didn't move or anything, they just remained in that position for few seconds but it was more enough for Zoro to recognize that love Kuina a moment ago announced.

She pulled away by pushing Zoro's chest with her palms but couldn't free herself since Zoro's arms were wrapped around her waist, "I'm still mad at you." Kuina murmured with a muted tone.

The green haired man felt his lips curve into a smirk, his usual smirk full of arrogance and overconfidence.

"I can't believe you think this is funny! You're such a bastard, an idiot, stupid, baka." She sputtered as her eyebrows knitted.

Zoro's lips continued to curve as he spoke quietly, "I'm your baka." His voice held affection and adoration that Kuina's face turned from being surprised to unpredictably poignant.

She tried to use one of her fake smiles yet again, "I have to go, just catch up with me after getting your swords. I'll be at that bar near that pizza place we usually go to. Ace is there and so is Mihawk." Her voice became all abruptly excited at the last word.

Zoro released her waist and kissed her on the cheek one last time. "Alright, I'll catch up with you; don't become the best swordsman before I get there." He warned her with a false threatening voice.

"If you get there fast enough," her voice sang before she dashed off to her car once more.

Zoro was glad that everything was back to the way it was before. Everything was fine again. He and Kuina had the love back and they were acting normal once more. Perfect. It was as if Sanji never existed in his life. _Sanji. _The name somehow stung his chest but not as much this time.

He grabbed his three polished swords, not particularly famous nor named such as Kuina's Wado Ichimonji but they were sturdy enough for him to use. It wasn't as if Zoro was picky with swords, he was happy to use any. After all, he believed that the best swordsman would be able to wield any types of swords with no trouble.

Zoro felt his pockets and checked for his usual items.

Wallet _check _

Car keys _check. _

Phone… He doubled checked to make sure his phone was not in his pants. Zoro searched around the wooden floor and underneath the mats but it wasn't anywhere. He scratched his head exasperatedly. He needed to get going, a _phone isn't worth missing this lifetime chance, _Zoro decided.

Then vaguely, very faintly that it would've been ignored if he wasn't feeling so distressed and desperate, a ring came out from the bathroom.

Straight away, he ran towards the bathroom to snatch up his phone hidden underneath folds of clothes and towels. Zoro felt awfully proud to find this mechanic before leaving but stopped his rejoice when he noticed the name of who just called.

_Missed Call from Sanji._

**AN: **I know guys, this chapter took awhile. The funny thing was that I actually wrote half of this chapter right before I uploaded my last chapter but then I realized the next half of this chapter was hard as hell to write.

I continued to change the plotline and it just became so frustrating. My internet kind of broke down for like a week and my inspiration continued to hit a dead end. But somehow, I managed everyone!

Hopefully you guys liked the chapter. Lots of things are going on inside my little marimo's mind and I swear for one last time that this is going to be the last romance between Zoro x Kuina (foreshadowing? Take a guess ^^)

Alright everyone, next chapter might take a bit longer to publish since I didn't even start planning it yet but bear with me everyone!


	16. Chapter 16

"Come on Sanji!" Ace insisted, "Give me your phone. I need to contact Kuina, I don't know if she got the exact location of this place or not." The freckled man relentlessly paced about as he begged the blonde. His expression held concern and apprehension as if this was about his own aspiration, not his friend's.

Sanji expelled a heavy sigh as he replied to this man, "I told you! I don't have Kuina's number."

They were parked right outside the bar where Dracule Mihawk was in and the freckled faced man was trying his best to not raise his voice. "Then give me Zoro's number," Ace insisted.

Sanji thought back to those times when he had tried erasing that damn number but realizing that he couldn't.

"Here," The blonde whispered as he uncertainly handed the raven haired man his phone. He couldn't allow Zoro to miss this chance, this miraculous opportunity.

Ace took the phone without a single hesitation and soon he was calling the green haired man, "Come on Zoro, pick your damn phone up," the freckled face man mumbled under his breath, noiselessly pleading for his friend to answer the call.

Sanji looked up at the low clouds scudding overhead and felt the breeze run through his hair. The clouds were awfully grey and thick as if a dreadful storm was approaching.

"Shit," the raven haired man cursed as he continuously dialed Zoro's number over and over again. "Come on Zoro pick up your damn phone."

Along with Ace, the blonde wordlessly wished for the green haired man to pick up as well.

* * *

It seemed an eternity, but it might have been only a few seconds, stretched out of all recognition through despair and fatigue. His mind had emptied and it felt as if the atmosphere around him completely stilled.

A single word continuously chimed inside his head in a melody, mockingly singing in a tune.

His heart began to pound and he felt the rhythm build, like a bomb getting ready to explode inside as he stared at the name. A name he thought he would never see again, expanded across on the screen of his touch screen phone.

But his thoughts distorted when the phone began to ring once more. His fingers sluggishly struggled to accept the call, even if he didn't quite feel like talking to anyone at this moment_, especially Sanji_, he wasn't about to avoid it like a coward.

Zoro tried to use his typical voice but a tiny whisper came out instead, "hello?" His tone reminded himself of a squeaking mouse.

"Oh my fucking god," a very well known person cried out but it was not quite the voice Zoro anticipated.

Before the green haired man could question who this was, the enthusiastic voice continued. "Thank god you picked up! Shit man, what the hell? I thought I was going to have to knock Mihawk out for you."

"Ace!" The green haired man yelled, relieved to hear this voice instead.

Ace dismissed Zoro's excitement as he hurriedly informed him. "I just called to see if you and Kuina knew the place I was talking about because I was very vague about it."

"Yeah I know," he assured his friend as he choked on the next question, W-w-w_hy do you have Sanji's phone?_

But before giving the green haired man a chance to finish, the freckled face man intervened, "shit, what's wrong with all the phones today? This one's almost out of batteries too… Alright, bye man, hurry the hell up and get here already."

Soon after ending the sentence, the other line created this strange shutting off noise which indicated that Zoro was unable to ask further questions.

_Shit._

And before getting inside his black convertible, he noticed that enormous black clouds were starting to roll in, possibly a terrible omen foreshadowing the future ahead but he didn't think much of it since the pre-existing disasters in his head was already too much to bear.

* * *

Sanji and Ace sat nearby the bar, sitting on a wooden bench right next to the pizza shop. They remained there in silence but it was one of those comfortable weary silences where neither needed to talk.

Both of them simply remained lost in their own thoughts.

The blonde felt somnolent and entirely drained out of any energy, today have been an extremely long day after all. His thoughts were numbed just like the rest of his body and the only noises he heard were the sounds of laugher leaking out of the bar, sounds of cheerful drunken men.

Sanji tried to concentrate upon his conversations later on with Zoro but with the breeze, his thoughts traveled and found that he couldn't quite get a grip on them.

It was as if nothing mattered anymore which was rather strange since he was fairly excited about this meeting earlier. It was possibly the fatigue overcoming his senses.

He shut his eyelids as he listened further to the noises of laugher, the shuffling sounds in the pizza shop, the whistles made by the breeze, and an earsplitting squeal made by a tire?

In confusion, the blonde snapped his eyes open to see a convertible, same model as Zoro's but in a different color, halting right next to Zeff's.

Without prior knowledge, the blonde felt moderately startled by the approach of this foreign car but straight away released the tension that was built within his body when he detected the person stepping out of the automatic.

"Kuina," The blonde let out, alongside with the raven haired man.

The woman with black cropped hair stepped out with a single sword sheathed by her waist. Even if she was dressed in brown baggy clothes, she appeared stunning as well as ferocious.

"Hey Ace," she greeted first since the freckled faced man was right underneath the lamp's luminosity, then her gaze traveled towards the blonde. "Sanji," she breathed out with surprise.

He expected rage or possibly neglect from this woman but in replacement, her face glowed as she stepped forward to hug him gently. "Hey Sanji, haven't seen you in awhile" She murmured softly.

That moment, the blonde understood that Kuina knew nothing of what happened between him and Zoro.

He gawkily returned the hug by tapping on her shoulder and when she released him, he mumbled, "Sorry that I haven't been able to keep in touch." He felt somewhat guilty of everything because it was as if he was lying to her by keeping her away from the truth.

Before any further interaction, the raven haired man interrupted the two by cutting in between, "Hey guys don't be getting all steamy now." He teased then turned towards the dark eyed woman, "No hug for me?" Ace asked in a whiny tone as he widely opened his arms, an invitation for her to come in between.

Kuina accepted the invitation by wrapping her arms around the man's waist. Although, it only lasted for less than an instant, it was still valid to be called a hug.

Afterwards, Ace expectantly overlooked Kuina's shoulders as if he was searching for something or someone. "Where's Zoro?" He abruptly questioned her with a befuddled expression.

Kuina began her way towards the bar as she replied, "He's coming soon, I just got a head start. Now where's Mihawk?" She asked. Her voice slightly trembling from anticipation.

And concurrently, Sanji and Ace pointed towards the bar where the greatest swordsman rested at.

The cropped haired woman's lips elongated alongside her chin, she appeared fearsome and formidable. "Let's get this shit started."

She led the way as she gripped the white handle of her sword. It was as if she was reassuring her dear katana that everything will be fine. That soon, it shall taste the most delicious blood of all, the blood of the greatest swordsman.

Even if she was exhilarated and ecstatic about this whole ordeal, the blonde couldn't help but to release a yawn, feeling worn-out as ever.

When they stepped into the bar, not a single attention was given to them. The place was so rowdy that no one even noticed their appearances.

They didn't even notice Kuina who entered with a sword around her waist. But again, Dracule Mihawk had a gigantic blade placed across his back so maybe it wasn't ignorance but familiarization. These people were probably used to seeing weapons and dangerous objects every day.

"Oh my god," Kuina's abruptly breathed out at the sight of Mihawk and for a second, her respiration completely congested.

The raven haired man urged her to go on by lightly pushing her with the palm of his hand. "Come on go on before he gets too drunk."

"Yeah, you're right," she agreed but her tone still wavered, not from eagerness but doubt this time. Her expression held uncertainty, skeptical of her own abilities at the moment, wondering if she was good enough to be the best. "I can do this," she boasted herself as she walked over to Hawkeye, flaring with determination.

They approached the table and straight away grabbed the attention of this red haired man whom glanced towards them to catch their expressions. "Hey hey, kids." He greeted as he hiccupped in between.

Even when his drunken partner had noticed, Mihawk paid no heed towards the group. He didn't even bother glancing at them; he simply continued to take tiny sips of alcohol and in that stoic like tone, he asked, "Let me guess, a swordsman coming to challenge me. Isn't that right Shanks?"

The red haired man with three scars over his eye glanced curiously at the three youngsters as if trying to figure out something. "No, you got that wrong. It's not a man. It's a woman and a very fine lady at that." The man named Shanks grinned as he slurred through his words.

Kuina disregarded the drunken male as she slammed her palm against the wooden table, "I've been waiting for this very day Mihawk, accept my challenge." She demanded, still gripping the handle of her white katana with her free hand.

The swordsman finally attempted to glimpse at his fresh challenge but his voice remained unchanged. "A woman challenging me is rare but it had been done before."

He then paused to bore his golden eyes into hers, "I can see a great tragedy. A woman must work _much_ harder than men in order to match up to their strengths." His fingers lightly tapped the glass containing wine. "They may have the grace and the dexterity but none has succeeded in the past with just those so I don't have any great expectations in your swordsmanship. I must reject your challenge. I do not feast upon starving dogs." He then turned back around to his previous position of disregarding them, facing the red haired man instead.

Sanji could literally see the cropped haired woman fuming in anger. Her expression was contorted in rage as the grip around the handle tightened further. "You won't accept my challenge because I'm a _woman_?" She shouted deafeningly, even managing to draw some attention from the bar. "You are such a-"

"If you were strong enough, you would understand that my sword exceeds yours greatly, yet you can't because you're hopelessly blind to the world." He cut her off, as brutally as if he'd sliced a sword through her words.

The blonde winced to see Kuina humiliated. He could only imagine the rage she was feeling inside.

But instead of allowing her inner fury to find its way out, Kuina closed her mouth then nodded.

"Come on Hawky, give this fine lady a chance, she looks so pitiable." The red haired man insisted to his drinking pal as he wrapped his arms around the swordsman's neck. "Come on," he continued as he nudged Mihawk's cheek with his finger.

Sanji gulped at the view, it was somewhat hilarious to see the greatest swordsman being poked on the cheek by some drunken idiot, but the situation did not call for a sudden burst of laugher.

And after being silent for so long, Ace spoke out, "Don't I know you?"

At first, the blonde thought he was asking Hawkeye once more and almost smacked his own forehead for it but realized that the raven haired man's question was directed towards the red haired fellow.

The man named Shanks narrowed his eyes to focus on Ace's face, "Aren't ya Luffy's brother?" He asked questioningly.

His freckled faced friend's expression lit up into a grin as he mumbled, "Shanks! I met you few years back!"

As they started to reminiscence the past, the tension set between Kuina and Mihawk did not lighten up even a little bit.

Kuina cleared her throat as she tried once more to convince the other man, "I've been waiting for this day my whole entire life. This is my ambition. If you're not even willing to accept my challenge, how would I ever achieve that?"

The swordsman lifted his eyes in relinquish as he released a heavy sigh, "This better not be a waste of time." It caused the whole group to gape towards Hawkeye in utter shock because none expected such an easy surrender from this man. Before anyone could comment, Mihawk continued to speak. "And as a warning, my choice of weaponry will not be this one," Mihawk warned as he pointed towards the gigantic cross like sword attached to his back.

Kuina seemed satisfied with this agreement as her expression broke out into a smile, "Thank you." She seemed so genuine and overjoyed that it caused Sanji to feel delighted for her as well. "Thank you," she repeated but much quieter the second time.

Even with such a cheery response, Dracule Mihawk remained grim, "Do not thank me child. This is not a mere game. The victor shall be the only one with his life still affix."

Kuina easily countered with her arms crossed. "If I was not ready for death, I shan't be handling swords at all." Her stern gaze prefixed upon the swordsman, "And if I do happen to pass away, it's alright because I would've died trying to achieve my dreams." Her expression began to hold a confident smirk yet again, resembling the mosshead in some ways.

As soon as those words spilled from her mouth, the blonde's chest tightened, it was very admirable to hear such words from this woman.

And it wasn't only Sanji who was impressed by that statement. For the first time that night, Mihawk expressed his emotions by allowing a cheeky grin to overtake his stoic expression.

"So, where are guys going to fight?" Shanks interrupted, abruptly cutting the conversation flowing between Kuina and Mihawk.

For some odd reason, his cheeks weren't as burgundy and when he stood, Sanji detected a sword around his waist. It wasn't as massive as Mihawk's nor was it thin and feathery appearing such as Kuina's. Instead, it was rather average than most, pretty typical, but it was still strange that he owned and carried around a sword.

As a response to Shanks, Kuina automatically said, "It doesn't really matter as long as we're away from the eyes of the government."

Sanji was quite surprised by the response and he couldn't help but to let out, "Kuina-chan is so lovely when she is being honest." He created a heart with his hands and fidgeted, the love cook side of him bluntly became exposed.

And expectantly, everyone's eyebrows rose except for Ace's.

Luckily Shanks cut in, entirely ignoring the blonde's accidental outburst, "This still doesn't answer my former question."

"Hmm…What better battle ground than an actual dojo itself?" The cropped haired woman said and the blonde could almost see a thought bubble escalating itself above Kuina's head.

* * *

Kuina has been into many strange occasions in the past but not once did she ever have the greatest swordsman right next to her as if they were about to hang out instead of fighting until death.

They were all by themselves in this mechanical since the blonde and the red haired men decided to take Sanji's car instead.

The freckled faced man had decided to stay behind at the bar since someone had to inform Zoro where everybody went and of course, the one who reminded everyone of her green haired lover was Sanji. In actuality, Kuina entirely forgot about Zoro because she was too focused upon Mihawk.

The more she thought about Zoro, the more her chest ached because even if they shared a kiss earlier, it meant nothing. Sanji was back and as always, Kuina was the one blocking the two from pursuing one another.

Even if the green haired man never admitted in liking Sanji, she could tell by his visible expressions and words. However, the blonde was a bit harder to figure out since she barely knew Sanji but eventually it came to her that the feelings were mutual between the two.

When the black haired woman drove into her driveway, she realized that her father was standing near the house in his grey yukata and from the moment of light casted upon his face, Kuina saw a stern expression on her father.

She gulped from an infinitesimal fear because she was afraid that her father would stop her from fighting against Dracule Mihawk. He would perhaps repeatedly remind her that she is a woman and that if anyone had a chance against Mihawk, it would have to be Zoro.

Kuina bit her lips from thinking such cruelties. It would be unfair thinking of Zoro and her father like such. Partly because her father meant no harm, he simply didn't want his little girl to risk her life. And Zoro had no fault in this because he is the only one who believes in her. He continues to tell her until this very day that gender does not take part in strength.

She stepped outside of her car with the rest of the group and instantaneously, her father stepped forward to shake Sanji's hand. "Ah glad you're back Sanji, we had a nice conversation last time, didn't we?" Her father stroke a conversation with a twinkle in his eyes, evidently liking the blonde man.

Sanji's smile brightened in response, "Hello Koshiro, I haven't seen you in awhile." He said as he shook hands with the older man.

Her father's eyes then strolled towards Mihawk and the friendly gaze turned cold once more. "Koshiro," he introduced himself as he stretched his hand forward for the swordsman to take.

"Mihawk," Hawkeye responded after a quick handshake.

Both men stared deeply into each other's eyes portentously as if they could converse telepathically. The situation felt so uncomfortable and strained that the aura around them darkened. But it was broken when Koshiro turned his gaze away to shake hands with the red haired man as well.

"So," Kuina started as she bit her lips uneasily, "I'm going to battle Mihawk soon and it would be nice if you could give me your support."

What she was asking for was ridiculous but she still wanted her father's acceptance. Koshiro did not believe in her and she knew it, he believed more in Zoro and it was unfair. Not only did Kuina desire to be the best but she also craved to surpass her father's expectancy of her.

Then surprisingly, her father said, "It's your life to live, even if I kept you sheltered all your life, it's your decision at the end." Koshiro tenderly grinned but those lightly curved lips held much remorse and regret that Kuina's chest tightened further.

She reached forward and clasped her arms around her father whom was much frailer and thinner than she remembered. Kuina haven't hugged her father in such a long time that she had almost forgotten how he smelt like.

By the short embracement, she was reminded of his proud expression when she had finally accomplished in overpowering an adult. She was reminded of the time when he had arrogantly announced to all the children in the dojo to be like Kuina. And she also remembered when he had hugged her frantically at her mother's funeral, repeating, _my last angel, _into her ears as he wept from despair.

The cropped haired woman attempted to speak but choked on her next words so she remained silent until he released her to continue. Even if the gesture felt so long, she realized that only few seconds have passed.

Koshiro stayed behind with his eyes hidden under those thick glasses of his as Kuina continued to lead the others into the training room, feeling worse than ever. She felt as if she had betrayed her father in some way.

Without prior notice, Kuina realized that the training room was left a mess. The dojo mats were haphazardly left around in atypical places and some random pieces of clothing were rested on top.

Kuina cupped her forehead as she groaned aloud, "We can't use this room right now, let's just fight outside instead." She suggested to Dracule Mihawk with an accidental casual tone.

Hawkeye's eyebrows lifted from this laid back comment but did not speak against it.

"But my love, it's completely dark outside," the blonde pointed out with a concerned expression, his hair was frizzed up, appearing as if he had just got out of bed.

The concern was endearing but Kuina didn't need to be babied, "A swordsman shouldn't use only his eyes to see." She replied smoothly to Sanji, this comment was in fact spoken by her father few years back. Well, the comment was made for Zoro but Kuina eavesdropped upon the lesson in order to prove herself worthy.

And she had found that with enough training, seeing without actually using one's eyes was possible, allowing the other senses to roam instead. Doing this was much more reliable than merely using sight since visions came to be undependable at times.

And unpredictably, Mihawk threw his head back to laugh, "Kukuku, you're a strange woman indeed. Now I'm curious of what you can do."

Even though the comment was flattering, the action afterwards was not. He plucked the golden cross hanging around his neck and the black haired woman glowered towards the swordsman when the golden cross revealed itself to be an incredibly short dagger.

"Are you trying to insult me?" Kuina snapped towards Dracule Mihawk, feeling dishonored and humiliated. That tiny dagger of his was a great damage to her pride.

"I'm sorry," he paused as his fingers traced across the pointed tip of the dagger before continuing, "that I don't have a smaller blade than this."

The black haired woman felt her face redden from the degrading comment. Anger began to spread like parasites and she felt herself running forward, entirely performing upon impulse. "You'll regret your choice after death!" She shouted as she unsheathed Wado Ichimonji, revealing a beautiful form of her antique katana.

Even though she swung her white sword rapidly, much too fast for anyone's naked eye, Mihawk stopped the attack as easily as he would've been flipping a page of a novel.

Much to Kuina's detestation, the swordsman appeared rather bored with her first attack. So to meet Hawkeyes's interest, she speedily propelled her katana towards her opponent repeatedly, aiming for the man's vital organs.

Kuina's arrogance rose above her anger and it clearly showed in her techniques because she was so sure that at least one of those repetitive attacks would hit.

But she quickly found that none was working. Haweye was easily blocking every single propel of hers. So she increased her speed and power, she was awfully determined to win because losing meant death and she was not about to release her life yet.

However, no matter how much she increased her speed, it always seemed that Mihawk was faster. No matter what technique she used, it felt as if the other man had figured it all out.

It was absolutely infuriating because it was as if the swordsman could predict every single movement that the cropped haired woman was about to make. She used every trick in the book yet Mihawk always managed to either dodge or block.

The worst thing of all was that Kuina could not rid of that bored expression lingering over his visage.

With each passing attack, she became much more impatient and exasperated, more desperate to land a hit, _anything. _

But of course, instead of landing even a scratch against the swordsman, the swings became much more sluggish from excess exertion.

Kuina was becoming exceedingly aggravated and she couldn't help but to wonder _was it this far all along? _She sought to win, no, she _needed_ to win. Kuina yearned to go against the societies' expectation of females and she strangely felt as if she would be letting everyone down if she happened to fall at the hands of this man.

And when the sharp dagger rippled through her skin, dislocating her collarbones along the way, the only thought coursing through her brain was, _I let everyone down because I wasn't strong enough. _

Her knees shook but she refused fall. She weakly gave Mihawk a smile as she strained to remain utterly and completely still, she did not want to tremble from this overwhelming pain. But she did feel her lips quaver with the taste of blood flooding her mouth instead of saliva.

Faintly, behind her head, she heard Sanji repetitively shouting her name; the blonde was certainly caring and overwhelmingly protective. Even though Kuina was irritated by this chivalrous side of his initially, she eventually figured that he doesn't do it for harm. He does it because he believes it's 'manners' and for that mere reason, she actually, somehow respected him.

A sharp voice shook the woman's rigid thoughts. "Why are you remaining motionless? If you step backwards, the blade would be completely out of your system." The swordsman questioned, his eyebrows were once again raised from inquisitiveness at the woman's odd behaviors.

Kuina wondered herself why she wasn't backing up. The tension around her shoulder would certainly be released if she would just _back the hell up!_ But she couldn't. She already figured that the battle had been lost but it didn't really feel like it.

And with a sudden sound that awfully resembled a strike of a match, she knew the answer, "Because… _wheeze…_ if I backed up right now, it would be as if…_cough…_ I actually lost this battle. It would be like all the promises and the ambition I've worked so hard to build… _cough_… would tear. And for that reason, I _refuse_ to back away." Her eyes burned through Hawkeyes' as she responded honestly.

This mere sting was nothing compared to the emotional pain of her past.

Mihawk pulled back the dagger harshly and the black haired woman felt a tremendous pressure release. But because of that sudden stir, an electrifying jolt of pain followed consequently, causing her to sharply intake a mouthful of air.

"Admirable, you own a spirit that drew my attention. As a reward…" The words trailed off as he begun to retrieve the sword shaped like a crucifix from his back, allowing the audience to view its spectacular curved black blade.

Kuina's eyes enlarged at the sight of this powerful appearing sword wielded by the greatest swordsman in the world and her mouth quickly desiccated from alarm. If she couldn't even go against a mere dagger, how could she possibly go against this one?

"This is Kokutou Yoru and it shall be your last opponent," he notified her as he attempted to clear away a speck on the dark blade.

Then without a prior warning, he charged at the speed of light. _No, _this speed was even faster than the light; it was as if he had vanished right before her eyes.

Since this was one of those moments where eyes became unreliable, she allowed her other senses to guide her. Kuina focused on even the smallest disturbance of nature. Such as the sudden change of direction made by the breeze, slight shift of a pebble, or even the breathing sounds created by Mihawk's black blade.

Her ears jerked by the sudden sound created by someone behind her but relaxed when she realized it was made by Sanji. The blonde was saying something but it was dismissed when she heard the swordsman's boot cause disturbance on the sand stretched out beneath them.

Kuina jerked her katana upwards to obstruct the massive sword coming down on her head. The weight of it was incredibly brutal and it took all the strength left in her to keep it away from wounding her.

Her shoulder ached unbelievably but she couldn't allow it to triumph because she knew the consequences in it would be death.

The veins appeared frigid blue across her arm and it was peculiarly bulging out as if it was about to explode. And from her forehead, droplets of sweat gushed down her face like a stream, dripping down from her eyelashes.

"Impressive," Mihawk remarked once more, appearing far from worn out, before disappearing from sight yet again.

The black haired woman remained alert but her vision was beginning to blur from supplementary blood loss. _Huff…huff…huff _she heard the abnormal breathings created by none other than herself.

Even though very little energy was left, she somehow continued to manage blocking the swordsman's vicious attacks.

Kuina silently wondered why Sanji wasn't calling out her name anymore, she silently longed for that encouragement. But she was also clandestinely grateful that the blonde didn't intrude into her battle because that would've meant he didn't believe in her potency.

That blonde man was honoring her by allowing her to prolong this battle herself. She grinned at the thought but straight away brought it to an end when the large blade pierced through her chest.

Kuina allowed herself to become distracted and this became the result for her dire mistake.

It happened so quickly that the black haired woman didn't even notice a thing until she saw the swordsman standing in front of her, looking bored as ever. But deep within his golden pupils, she saw pity which she loathed from the bottom of her heart.

Her bloodied hands grasped the swordsman's weapon because it was too painful. She needed the blade to exist her system because it was horrendously agonizing and excruciating that every part of her shrieked in pain. She felt as if her head was going to explode. From deep within her, she could feel a terrible roar beginning. It came deep from the center, flooding through every vein, stretching out along her arms and legs until every fiber of her being was crying out.

Her brown eyes pitifully and shamefully pleaded the swordsman to pull out and fortunately, Hawkeye abided to her request.

However, his eyes held disappointment that ached much worse.

When the blade was drawn back once more, Kuina collapsed onto her knees, the scenario in front of her began to distort yet again, but this time it was much worse than before.

Kuina saw that the sand beneath her held blood all over as if it was a carpet, decorating its surface.

She grasped the ground in fury, grabbing blood and sand all together in her fist. _How is it this far away? I trained all my life, how is it still unreachable? _Kuina began to punch the ground. She wanted to be stronger and superior than her present self.

This anger boiling inside her transformed into grief because she had let everyone, including herself down, she felt so ashamed and wretched that tears began to drip onto her cheeks.

"I lost," Kuina admitted as she raised her dear katana with her last strength.

The swordsman, with his rustic yet clear tone said, "You have greatly admired me. Explore the world and fight others to continue your journey and one day, when you've improved enough, I shall be there, waiting for you until my last breath." With his final admirable words, he began to walk away with the red haired man trailing behind him.

And before her vision at last faded, she could've sworn that she saw a golden curtain of hair in front of her. Very faintly, she heard shouts that were like whispers in her head.

Soon to be, even those tiny whispers disappeared to be replaced by strange sounds of heartbeats. _Bathump…Bathump…Bathump_

**. . .**

"Kuina, get up!" Someone yelled into her ears, causing her eyelids to snap open in panic, and before long, she felt herself rising from the comfortable sheets under her. Her hands came into the vision since she stretched them in front of her eyes. For some odd reason; she expected them to be stained with crimson blood.

But of course, they weren't. They were polished clean, not a single trace of dirt lingered.

"Kuina, stop staring at your hands and let's go!" The unknown person continued to shout and when she lifted her head, she realized that the voice had already traveled outside the room.

She cocked her head to one side, still confused from this strange circumstance.

"Are you changed yet?" A much more recognizable voice called out.

She hastily slid off of her bed as she responded loud as possible, "Wait, I'll be out there in a minute dad!"

As usual, Kuina slid into an oversized T-shirt and jeans. Her hair was ruffled and scuffled in unusual places but the only restoration she did was brushing it with her fingers. She then rushed outside of her room after grabbing her worn out bag. Near the exit of her house, she positioned her feet into these shabby appearing black combat boots, taking her time.

"Hurry up Kuina," a boy few years younger than her demanded. Even though he was younger in age, he was already beating her in height and weight.

Kuina rolled her eyes in annoyance, "Shut up Zoro before I smack you on the head with the bamboo sword again." At the end her sentence, a tiny smirk played out which caused Zoro's face to turn bright scarlet.

"Stop bragging! I will beat you soon, you'll see. I'll be the greatest swordsman someday," Zoro responded with a tiny spark in his hazel eyes.

Kuina chuckled, not mockingly but affectionately as she bypassed his figure. "Come on dumbass, we're going to be late for school." She waved her pale hands, gesturing him to hurry as she broadened her already wide smile.

The green haired boy ran after her with his usual frown.

They chit chatted all the way to school since recently, ever since Zoro entered her middle school, they became so much closer than ever before. Of course Kuina still thought of him as this arrogant brat but her opinion of him enhanced from the past.

She laughed hysterically when he told her that a blonde boy tripped him in middle of the sidewalk and instead of apologizing, he called Zoro a 'shitty asshole.'

Kuina certainly enjoyed listening to Zoro's tales because even if it wasn't so obvious, the green haired boy was quite the story teller.

When they reached school, they had to part since the two of them were in different grades. Kuina always dreaded this moment because Zoro was one of those few people she actually liked spending time with in school.

Other students in school felt distant from her since no one really understood her morals and ways. Most of the times, she was secluded from group projects and friendly chats.

Kuina stepped into her classroom .Since she was late, the whole class turned to look at her. The teacher even stopped in middle of her sentence to glance at her way. "Did you grab those clothes in middle of the street?" Someone obnoxiously commented.

The cropped haired girl turned her head furiously to see who have just spoken but none appeared suspicious. Even though her jeans had few holes here and there, it did not mean she picked it off the streets.

"Quiet class," the teacher snapped then turned to look at Kuina. "Please silently take your seat."

Kuina readjusted her bag onto her shoulders as she commenced on walking to her seat which was all the way to the front. But on her way there, she felt a light pinch on her rear end.

She snapped her head back around to see who the criminal was but everyone was staring off into another part of the classroom when she had turned. Kuina felt violated and humiliated at the same time but she couldn't make a huge deal out of it because she didn't have a single clue as to who did it.

"Kuina, what's taking you so long? Please take your seat immediately," the teacher demanded once more but with a harsher tone this time.

The black haired girl took her seat with a frown engraved into her facial features, still peeved by the fact that someone out there _dared_ to make fun of her.

The periods zoomed by since her mind was quite distracted. She was no longer concerned over this bold person who dared teasing her. Instead, she was reflecting on something else.

Ever since Kuina hit puberty, her father had been expecting her to be more feminine.' That word utterly disgusted her since she wasn't ready to be a 'feminine' nor did she _ever_ want to be treated as one.

And even more outrageously, her father began to isolate her from his teachings and he supposed that she was okay with it. Of course she wasn't okay with such idiotic decisions made by her father.

How could he simply disregard his own daughter in such ways? How could he be so sexist? Why did he have to be so damn annoying and controlling at the same time?

Kuina swears that she never gets a single clue on what her old man could be thinking. He had always been damn inexplicable and puzzling that it frustrated her most of the times. But this time, he had gone way over the line. It was unfair to her that he would even try something like this.

The only person who had honorably defended her side happened to be Zoro.

The green haired boy stood beside Kuina as she fought against her father. He was actually angrier towards this situation than Kuina herself. He continuously repeated to Koshiro that she was a formidable opponent even if she is a girl.

But Koshiro shook his head incessantly, still unconvinced. It caused the black haired girl to feel shitty yet again and again.

"Everyone, please pack up your stuff and head off to lunch." The teacher announced.

Kuina hastily and clumsily grabbed then shoved everything into her already disorganized bag. She was almost the last one in the classroom. And as soon as she walked out, strands of green wedged into her field of vision, "Hey," Zoro greeted with his bag slumped over his shoulder. His expression held boredom and impatience.

Before she had a chance to answer her younger pal, a group of pre-teens rushed passed, deliberately bumping and shoving her towards Zoro.

"Bastards," she growled. Then she noticed that her chest had collided against the green haired boy's and she couldn't help but to chuckle at Zoro's flushed expression. "Having ecchi (perverted) thoughts Zoro?" Kuina teased him without a single menace behind those words.

He quickly pulled away as his face began to burn additionally. "Shut up, no I'm not."

Kuina's grin remained but she decided to drop the tease. "You know I'm just messing with you."

She then walked ahead of the green haired boy in the direction of the lunchroom before a loud whispered boomed through the narrowly spaced hallway, "Bitch." Of course there was no harm behind that word. Zoro simply said it to counter.

Kuina took not a single offence but her teacher did. "Young man, you better watch that mouth of yours or I'll be calling your parents," she warned Zoro with her index finger pointed towards him. Her already wrinkled face scrunched up further, creating extra deep lines across her features.

The green haired boy scratched his head as he released a heavy yawn, "alright, stop nagging me, you old hag." He replied, causing the teacher to shoot daggers out of her eyes.

"Watch that mouth of yours or you'll be out of this school," she threatened once more as she slowly backed away from the two youngsters.

"Good," Zoro inaudibly grumbled.

Kuina laughed on the way to lunch because Zoro always managed to attract trouble even in the most unexpected circumstances.

"That's why you shouldn't talk back, it's a waste of time _and_ you get yelled for it." She tried reasoning with him as one of the lunch ladies scooped a spoonful of goop that slightly resembled mashed potatoes.

The green haired boy pouted as he mumbled, "That old hag deserved that. She is annoying as hell; I don't know how you deal with her."

"I don't know either but you better watch out because you might have her in the future."

Zoro simply shrugged then said, "Whatever, it's not like I want to be here anyways. The only reason I'm here is because Koshiro forces me to, saying education is important and shit." The lunch ladies scooped him a spoonful of mashed potatoes as well as grilled cheese since he requested them.

Kuina rolled her eyes because she heard his complaints thousands of times before, about how he'd rather train than learn useless shit in school.

"I'm going to get us a table so hurry up okay?" She informed him before sprinting out speedily. Her pace was so fast that she didn't even notice a person was around the corner.

Kuina harshly crashed against the other member, and then soon, she found herself on the floor covered in mush that was once on her plate.

"Watch where you're fucking going," A low voice grumbled.

The black haired girl raised her head to see one of her classmates hovering over her. She couldn't quite remember his name at the moment but what she did remember was that he was the only kid who had been left back for three years straight.

Kuina silently stood up as she wiped the potatoes off of her clothes, "Sorry," She apologized since she didn't want to start anything with this overly buff kid.

"Hey you're that hobo who goes to our school," he sneered with a wide grin. His taunt was far too loud for just her ears.

The whole lunchroom hushed for a moment to hear the upcoming fight.

The cropped haired girl snapped her teeth shut. She was not going to beat the shit out of this kid in school, in middle of the lunchroom where the teachers could evidently view. Kuina merely persisted on cleaning herself further, since some unknown meat pieces were still stuck to her T-shirt.

From the disregard from Kuina, the older boy's face reddened and from pure rage, he snatched a plate from the table nearby, "If you like food so much, then eat this you bitch." He commented before dumping its content on her.

Some tomato sauce attached to her face and it became caught in her hair. And some other disgusting stuff blinded her eyes.

She heard few gasps and giggles from the adolescent people surrounding them as her face colored from incontrovertible rage.

Kuina lifted her fists. Even if she wasn't as strong as some of the grownups, she was pretty sure she could take down this obnoxious oversized kid. After all, she wasn't some weak frail girl who depended on guys all the time.

"Oho, you're mad aren't ya, you ugly little mutt," He mocked as a clear satisfaction visibly overtook his expression.

Kuina gritted her teeth, she pulled back her arm but before her fist could rearrange those ugly bone structures of the older boy, someone else's arm swung in front of hers, creating a huge uproar through the cafeteria. "Zoro!" She screamed when the green haired boy intercepted the two.

"Little fucker, get the hell off of me," The older boy shouted and flailed since Zoro's legs were strapped onto his plump waist.

The green haired boy simply maliciously grinned towards his target beneath him as he pulled back his fist. "Wait stop," the bigger boy demanded in panic as he struggled yet again but the grip of Zoro's legs around him was too tight. "Please no," he requested once more but it was far too late, Zoro's fists were already digging into his cheekbones repeatedly.

The kids began to surround them as they incessantly yelled gleefully, "Fight fight fight!"

The only thing Kuina could've done was watch silently as Zoro's expression contorted into an expression full of malevolence. She stood aside until the security rushed in to break the two. She watched the students scatter at the call of the bell. And she remained still when one of the securities dragged her to the principal's office as well.

The three of them remained silent in the hallway until the principal called the students one by one.

Kuina happened to be the first one to be called.

"Hello, please make yourself comfortable," Quite a young fellow who was in fact her principal suggested to the black haired girl as he pointed towards a sofa. He was a man with olive skin and wide glasses but despite appearing so naïve, behind those lenses, he appeared to be someone much wiser. Without a further argument, Kuina sat as she waited for her punishment. "I heard that you witnessed a fight, is that correct?" He asked with a tender smile but behind that tender smile, a hint of danger lingered.

Kuina nodded since she didn't feel the need to talk.

"Alright then, I just wanted to make sure, you're free to go. Even though you still have four periods left, I'll allow you to head home." The principal informed her with a wave of his hand.

Kuina raised one of her eyebrows because this was certainly unexpected. "Just like that?" She asked hesitantly, feeling as if there was still an unsolved trickery behind those words.

"Just like that," he confirmed.

And before leaving, she heard the principal's voice one last time, "Please send the two boys in before leaving." She nodded then walked outside to tell the two the information. The older boy simply glowered in her direction while Zoro deliberately avoided her eyes.

Kuina had the permission to leave but she decided to wait for Zoro in front of the principal's office. It didn't take that long; actually it only took about a minute before the two boys came out again.

A gleeful voice made by the principal filled the hallway when the wooden door swung open. "Have a nice day boys." He called out cheerfully. Even though the man in charge of the school was awfully optimistic, Zoro and the other boy appeared confused.

"What happened," she asked curiously.

Expectantly, the older boy glowered towards her as he began to stomp off but Zoro remained.

The green haired boy hid his hands inside his pockets as he set in motion by walking out of the school premises. Kuina followed right after him, still expecting an answer, she couldn't help but to think of all the questions to ask him. "So what happened in there and why did you interfere earlier?" She asked harshly.

It wasn't as if she was angry by the fact the green haired boy barged in, actually, she was quite glad that it wasn't her who punched the other boy in the face because there would've been some grave consequences behind it. But it still wasn't fair that Zoro was the one who became blamed for her mistakes.

Also, he had no right to protect her like that. If he wanted to play chivalry, he could save someone else, someone who didn't beat him up every single day without trouble.

"The principal suspended us, blahblahblah. Same old shit." He answered, appearing pretty bored as he stared up at the sky.

She followed his eyes and glanced up as well and noticed that the clouds have gloomed and was crowded as if the electromagnetic energy were beginning to charge itself. "A storm is coming," her own voice spoke out as if she was a prophet.

"Pretty soon," Zoro finished after her.

Kuina relaxed because she enjoyed the thought of a storm coming. It somehow made her feel serene. "Yeah," her recent irritation felt as if it had been released, joining the oxygen that was surrounding them. "You know what?" She started, "Thanks for standing up for me earlier." At the end of her sentence, a droplet landed on her cheek.

The green haired boy smirked as he began to say, "Did you see how he begged for me to stop?"

Kuina chuckled to herself as she commented, "Yeah, he was so weak but he bluffed a lot." She felt more raindrops crashing against her skin now.

"They do say that the weak are the ones who brag the most, to make their enemies cower before an encounter." He added as his tongue stretched out to taste a raindrop, fallen from above.

Soon, the small droplets of rain became bullets and with each hit against her skin, she felt refreshed and freshened. "Hey Zoro," she called out loudly, trying desperately to overcome the deafening sounds surrounding them.

The green haired boy turned his head around then mouthed 'what,' with one of his eyebrows raised.

The black haired girl grabbed one of Zoro's hands and surprisingly, the other boy did not resist, even though it probably would've extremely easy to escape her grip, especially with the help of this rain gloving their hands, causing it to be exceptionally slippery.

Even if he didn't resist, his face did hold confusion from Kuina's out of the blue gesture.

Kuina pulled the green haired boy closer by tugging on his arm and yet again, Zoro did as she pleased. She then guided one his hands to her waist and smiled. "Let's dance," she shouted over the deafening bullets of rain crashing against the ground.

For some peculiar reason, she was feeling awfully frivolous and playful. She wanted to play around the rain with Zoro.

"No way," the boy shouted back to her but behind that false irritated mask of his, a hint of amusement played out.

And Kuina somehow knew that all she had to do was push the button a little bit further in order for Zoro to step out of his comfort zone. She pulled away from the boy with their hands still clinging to one another and with the aid of that contact, she twirled back to him. "No one can see us through the rain."

At first it was completely one sided, Kuina twirled and led the boy left and right but soon, Zoro joined in. They began to act as complete fools as they spun wildly with no exact set of rhythm or beat. The only music they followed was the repetitive sounds of the beats created by the rain crashing onto the ground. And the only melody they followed was the sounds produced by their own lips, chuckles and laughers made from their own silly actions.

**. . .**

* * *

The sky changed color so fast; it was as if someone had ripped away a sheet of blue wallpaper to reveal a gaping black hole. The heat from the sun vanished in an instant and the rain came down in hard pellets of water that burned and froze them in the same instant.

He felt abruptly alone when the swordsman left with his red haired companion. A single person remained other than himself and that was a broken woman lying on his arms, motionless as if she was set in a deep slumber.

When Sanji had seen the black haired woman fall, he felt a heavy sickness and a frightening swell of adrenaline in his veins. One moment, his whole body felt as heavy as lead, the next as fragile and vulnerable as a feather. He felt this terrible dread for her and anger towards himself for not being able to intercept Mihawk's attack. The blonde felt hopelessly dejected for being so worthless.

The rain continued to beat against the woman and the blonde felt a surge of fury towards nature as well for being so cruel in such state of affairs.

He delicately lifted her and tried to shield her against the powerful drops but it was impossible, liquid somehow managed to seep through the blonde's physical shield.

Sanji was running rapidly to Zeff's car because he needed to take Kuina to a nearby hospital. He wasn't about to allow a woman to die, or _anyone _to die with his presence nearby.

In amidst of this heavy pouring rain, the blonde saw an outline of someone standing in the middle of nowhere, appearing perfectly adjusted to the nature surrounding him. Actually, it wasn't as if this man was adjusted to it but it was as if he was part of it.

Koshiro's hands outreached his arms in order for the blonde to hand over his daughter and without faltering, Sanji gently placed Kuina into her father's arms.

It might've been the trick of his eyes, but the blonde could've sworn he saw tears streaming down Koshiro's face, tears that quickly joined the rain that were streaming down their faces.

Sanji acted casual, he walked slightly ahead so the man behind him could mourn with dignity over his beloved dying daughter.

**AN: **Wow this was extremely difficult to write.

I know I said no more romance with Zoro and Kuina but memories don't count right?

And the reason for my dreadfully late update was because my laptop broke for like weeks and I had to fix it. I'm so sorry for the inconveniences.

But I did post some new short story/one-shot fan fictions. Of course they're ZoSan. Maybe one day, I'll write a fan fiction that doesn't mainly focus on Zoro and Sanji but I can't help it, they're simply amazing together.

I really really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, it was depressing for me to write it but I can't help write emotional scenes since that's what I'm best at ^^! If you would be so kind, please leave a comment, you don't have to but it'll surely make my night~ Thank you everyone for your support!


	17. Chapter 17

In the vehicle owned by the green haired man, his dear friend Ace sat next to him, chattering and jabbering like a bird, talking about how his brother had changed and how he missed the old times.

Zoro sighed as Ace continued to ramble on.

He wanted to ask the other man of the blonde cook but he wasn't disrespectful enough to cut the other man off. Zoro strained to listen to every word said by the raven haired man but it was extremely difficult since his attention was focused on so many other things such as the upcoming battle between him and MIhawk, Kuina's safety in her battle, and the blonde's sudden appearance into his life.

"And the other day when I asked him where he was going, he wouldn't tell me! Can you believe that? I'm his brother…" Ace told him another flashback of his.

That was the last thing the green haired man heard before he entered a flashback of his own, one that was shared with Kuina.

* * *

His hands trembled furiously and in order to stop such quavers, he gripped the round wheel firmly.

Sanji's whole body felt rigid and cold from the pouring rain. It had soaked him through his skin previously but he definitely wasn't the one suffering compared to someone else in the back of his car.

Kuina was deathly pale and with each passing moment, her blood soaked up the cushions of Zeff's car underneath.

Sitting next to her was Koshiro. His fingers ran through her ink black hair tenderly as he mournfully choked in amidst of his words. He spoke in Japanese but Sanji could tell that this man was choosing his words very carefully with the tone he was speaking. It was unhurried yet powerful that it sent shivers down the blonde's spine even if he had no idea what was just said.

Sanji wanted to weep and shed tears with the older gentleman behind him but he still felt too numb to even try.

Once more, he resulted in this pathetic form. Even though the years have long gone since his parent's deaths, he still bore scars far deeper than the most.

Sanji couldn't yet again protect another person. He couldn't protect _anyone_ because he was far too useless and pathetic.

He'd remembered the former incident like a thorn bewitching his peace.

. . .

The two swordsmen were like two wild beasts and yet there was as much poise and synchronicity in their movements that it was as if they were dancing. It was a beautiful yet frightening to watch, full of skill and grace. Sanji made sure to mark every movement until the woman was stabbed through her shoulder.

She had cried out harshly and her breathings immediately hastened.

The blonde repeatedly cried out her name, a woman being harmed right before his eyes was like poison entering his veins, it was simply unacceptable. He was about to charge in but someone gripped his arm harshly before he could

When he had turned, he found that it was Mihaw's familiar companion, Shanks, holding him up. The red haired man shook his head ferociously and silently told the blonde that it was a battle between two warriors and he had no right to barge in.

Sanji of course, being the way he is, wanted to protest. It was his duty, obligation to save another human being because he never ever desired for someone else's blood washing onto his hands again but the red haired swordsman's grip on him was too tight to resist so Sanji was forced to carry on watching the two warriors fight for their lives.

The blonde bit his lips from shouting out for the woman to stop.

The words spoken by the two engaged in the battle before his eyes droned onto the atmosphere as if it had never been said.

In order to calm himself down, he lit up one of his cigarettes. Even if he had hoped for tranquility, he had found dread when the swordsman pulled out his black sword that used to hang from his back. The red haired man next to him murmured to himself, "This certainly is a special occasion, he usually never wield that sword unless he finds someone worthy." The blonde paid no heed to the comment just made. Instead, he incessantly watched the battle that was carefully unfolding in front.

All of a sudden, with no sudden warning, Mihawk disappeared. Well, it was as if he had disappeared. The swordsman carried himself lightly with the wind so fast that it felt as if he had teleported.

But he had re-materialized to strike upon the already fragile woman once more with his black blade.

Even though Kuina was badly losing, Sanji couldn't help but to admire their mesmerizing forms. It was unbelievable how they fought so fiercely but still managed to appear graceful.

But those thoughts immediately halted when Kuina's form slipped for one moment, which was sufficient enough for her opponent to land a hit into her.

She was bleeding, profusely from her chest. She tumbled in a slow motion, onto her knees, towards the ground after Mihawk had pulled the sword out of her system. The sand beneath her seemed to buckle to meet her body, which crashed down, arms and legs flying about.

It had happened so quickly that only then, Sanji had realized what had just occurred in front of his eyes. The scene ended and the elusive beauty of swordsmanship disappeared since it only revealed that the beauty was indeed death and nothing more.

Mihawk withdrew his sword and placed it upon his back once more as he began to speak, but the words yet again droned off and turned into indecipherable hisses. The only thing Sanji could focus on at the moment was the bleeding woman right before his eyes.

The blonde stared at Kuina whom was jerking occasionally like a sea creature that had been pulled onto the ground. The life ran out of her in a dark, crimson river, all over beneath her.

For a moment he thought he was going to vomit. He felt the bile rise in his throat but somehow, he managed to keep it down.

Sanji immediately ran over towards the woman who was fatally injured. He rushed to her side as shock and stunted adrenaline rose. The injury on this woman was horrible of sights and he wondered how her pulse still faintly ran.

He persisted on shouting out her name relentlessly to grab her attention as his fingers lifted up her eyelids to see if she was still conscious. However, Kuina's eyes rolled back which told the blonde he had very little time left.

. . .

Back in the car, Sanji sped through the road, desperate to reach a nearby hospital. He listened to those faint and uneven respiration of the woman behind him, motivating him to continue even if dread was overcoming his senses.

The only thing Sanji was wearing currently was his white tank top with his black overcoat. It felt pretty uncomfortable with his missing blue striped buttoned down shirt. But the shirt was in aid of the broken woman's wounds. He used it in order to stop the rapid blood loss but it wasn't helping much since his shirt was already wet from rain. The fabric was already soaked scarlet as the color quickly drained out of the woman's visage.

The situation truly and utterly scared the shit of the blonde. He wasn't ready for another death by his hands and without prior notice, Koshiro spoke out of nowhere, "Where are you?"

Immediately, Sanji glanced up to look for one of those signs that told the drivers where they currently stood but the blonde couldn't spot one anywhere. "Sorry, I don't know," he answered.

"You don't need to go there anymore," the older man out of nowhere spoke with a grim tone.

The blonde's brows knitted from confusion, "Koshiro, what the hell are you talking about? Kuina's life is on stake!" He yelled from disbelief, unable to believe that the man sitting behind him would abandon his daughter in such ways.

"Sanji," Koshiro began and the blonde prepared for the worst as he gripped the wheels fiercely, "I'm on the phone."

The blonde immediately loosened his fist as he flushed from humiliation and he managed to mutter, "Oh..." But he actually wanted to throw himself out the window, he felt terribly embarrassed and his face showed the embarrassment by appearing tomato red.

Koshiro continued to talk on his phone, disregarding Sanji's awkward outbursts, "Zoro listen to me, Mihawk isn't there anymore." At the mention of the green haired man, Sanji snapped his attention to the conversation held. "It's an emergency. We're heading for a nearby hospital, please hurry up," The older gentleman's voice was firm and demanding, it silently told 'no further questions' and Zoro obviously got the hint because Koshiro hung up.

Sanji's heart wrenched once more, not because of the death itself but for Zoro. He wondered how the green haired man would feel about his lover's critical conditions. Sanji's chest hardened and his stomach clenched dramatically and for a moment he couldn't breathe, he felt suffocated. The blonde just hoped that Zoro was stronger than he.

* * *

It was peculiar how his green haired friend's face blenched all suddenly, so the raven haired man stopped talking about his brother just for a moment to ask him what he had just been told. Expectantly, Zoro remained calm as he answered with an empty tone, "They're heading to the hospital, I think it's because Kuina."

Ace practically flinched at the news, he, no, everybody expected the victory to be in favor towards the brave woman but hearing that it actually wasn't, was incredibly shocking. "What? How the fu-"

"I don't know, let's go." Zoro's words cut into his but it didn't sound rude or improper, it actually sounded awfully desperate and distressed. Hearing that kind of tone coming out of his friend was more than enough for Ace to shut the hell up and follow directions for once.

The two male beings hastily drove along the highway with a speed that was slightly overwhelming than it should've been.

Each rain drop against the window made a plop sound and trailed itself down, joining others before crashing onto the ground. The window shields shifted left to right then back to left again, repetitively wiping the raindrops that were shielding the driver's visions.

Ace wondered what was going through the green haired man's mind at the moment.

As always, Zoro was not giving away a single clue as to his thoughts but the raven haired man could almost feel the tension that was radiating off of him. "It's going to be okay, everything is going to be fine," he assured his dear friend. Even though the words weren't spoken, he could tell that Zoro was petrified because if Ace were to be in his position, he too would've been scared shitless.

The green haired man visibly relaxed slightly, his shoulders drooped a bit and the flexing of his arm loosened. He didn't respond to Ace and that was perfectly acceptable. Zoro wasn't someone who would show weakness to anyone because he was a fighter, a soldier; he was someone who trained all his life to mask his emotions and control his expressions.

"It's going to be alright, Sanji was with her, you see?" He brought the blonde up in hope for a mood change. "You know how he's towards women. He would prevent Kuina from getting a single scratch because he's an overprotective idiot." Ace vaguely grinned at the thought of Sanji.

Whenever Ace ever brought Zoro into the subject of the blonde, the green haired man's spirit would either uplift into the sky or fall into a pit hole. This time, Ace took the risk, genuinely hoping for the best.

Luckily, the green haired man exhaled all the air he had been storing as he responded to the freckled faced man with a brightened spirit, "He is like that, isn't he?"

Ace continued to pursue the subject, "Duh! He's a womanizer and a gentleman. I didn't even know someone could have both of those personalities." He felt good about himself for giving a reason to the green haired man to smile in such dire times.

Zoro lightly chuckled as he sighed deeply, "Shit… I really hope nothing happened to Kuina."

The raven haired man could tell that his friend was on the verge of possibly tearing. His voice had almost cracked at the name of his childhood friend.

"Me too man, me too." Ace enclosed his lips after those words of comfort.

After few moments of silence, the green haired man decided to speak up yet again, "So, why was that curly brow with you anyways?"

It seemed as if he was trying to mask his extreme inquisitiveness with a casual manner but it wasn't fooling the raven haired man in any case.

Ace was glad to be away from the subject of the swordswoman so he decided to tease his friend a bit to distract him further. "What are you talking about? Of course I was with him. I'm his lover after all." He tried his best to not burst out laughing at the end of his sentence.

All of a sudden, the other man's voice became rigid and alert, "What?" He sounded so shocked as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard.

The freckled faced man raised one of his eyebrows in wonder, _could it be?_

But Zoro had rejected the blonde according to Sanji's side of the story. Ace decided to press o additionally, "Yeah, few months ago, he was all dejected and shit so I comforted him. Then, we kissed in the rain and all the romantic stuff you see in movies. He's so fucking great in bed and-"

In an irritated tone, Zoro cut him off, "I don't need to know about your gay life with the idiot cook."

That technically proved it. The green haired man was attached to Sanji somehow. Either romantically or obsessively, either way, it was a weakness for Zoro.

Ace smirked, even though the tease was fun, he was going to drop it. "I'm just kidding man. I know Sanji is like in love with you, he would never abandon you right after that incident," he 'accidentally' blurted out causing Zoro to freak.

"Whoa, what the fuck Ace, how the hell did you know that? And Sanji is not in love with me."

The raven haired man rolled his eyes as he heaved a sigh, "Obviously he told me and it's extremely noticeable, you would have to be an idiot to not notice his feelings." He implied to his green haired friend with an overdramatic tone. Zoro instantly hushed at Ace's implement and so, Ace continued, "He's really into you. By the looks of it, he hasn't been getting sleep."

Zoro answered in a controlled manner, "I see but I told him to never contact me again."

The raven haired man twitched at his friend's harsh response, "But he really likes you-"

"So?"

Ace exhaled deeply, his friend was certainly a stubborn lad and he knew that he wasn't someone who would be able to change the green haired man's mind. However, he could maybe push him over the edge to enable him to realize his feelings for the blonde. "Sanji was desperate and I know you don't hate him at all, so just be friends with him for his sake."

"Oi, if I stay with him then he'll like me even more," Zoro sounded extremely exhausted.

The raven haired man grinned as he answered, "A bit conceited aren't ya?"

"Shut up Ace," his green haired friend grumbled.

Ace was processing his thoughts, he needed to sort this out nicely or all would fall. "I'm just saying man, Sanji was more miserable without you than with you, ya know? And you're hurting yourself since you kind of, maybe, like this man." He hesitated in between each word because he was afraid of saying something wrong.

"I do NOT like Sanji!" Zoro abruptly defended himself as he glared at Ace. The car swerved to one side in a tense motion from the driver's sudden burst of anger.

"Watch the fucking road!" Ace shouted.

Zoro's eyes were back on the road and the car's pace was normal once more. "I don't like Sanji," he tried again in a pouty tone.

It was obv-fucking-ious that Zoro had feelings for the blonde cook but Ace couldn't figure out why his friend was so defensive on the matter. It was as if he was… Guilty.

_Of course he was guilty! _Ace finally hit the jackpot to the green haired man's feelings. However, he couldn't fix the situation without mentioning Kuina, so he decided to put the subject for later.

It was good timing because the car soon pulled over into the hospital's parking lot which was expectantly vacant. And unfortunately, Zoro appeared tense again, his teeth was clenched tightly and his face appeared extremely stern.

The freckled faced man wanted to do something but knowing the situation, he knew all they could do was to wait and see.

As soon as they walked in, the counter was in view, so they headed for the women in white nurse outfits. "Hello, how may I help you?" One of them asked with a perked up expression, possibly from seeing two attractive men.

"I'm wondering if a woman named Kuina has checked in just now or Koshiro, it doesn't matter, either one of them." Zoro rushed his words when he spoke. His face was pushed forward so their faces were extremely close to one another.

The nurse flushed as she stammered," I-I don't think so, the only patient who came in recently was a woman with a critical condition, she might've been the one, we couldn't get their names since it was an emergency."

The green haired man slammed his fist onto the counter, "Shit," he cursed aloud as he gritted his teeth. "Where is it?" He mumbled with his head lowered.

"E-excuse me?" The woman was no longer self-conscious, in replacement; a startling fear crept onto her expressions. Her voice was trembling as she pointed towards the left, "If you mean the emergency room, it's over there." As soon as the knowledge was obtained, Zoro sprinted, leaving the nurses behind feeling somewhat relieved and confused.

The raven haired man sighed as he apologetically glanced at the ladies, but instead of handing out a time consuming apology, he asked "How serious was the woman's condition?"

Another nurse stepped forward as she answered him calmly, "When she first entered, she was in a fatal condition and on the brink of death. It seemed as if a sharp object has pierced through her skin tissues and caused a disturbance into her inner functional system. However, I do not know if she's stabilized or not."

Ace groaned as he thought _how could've any of this happened?_

* * *

The blonde rushed inside with the bleeding woman. He was quite desperate to find a doctor, or anyone who could simply support this woman. He demanded the nurses at the counter to take him to the doctor. Sanji had mistreated women for that one moment but nothing mattered with life and death situation at hand.

The next state of affairs seemed so blurred. He recognized the doctors rushing forward and ordering Sanji to hand over the injured woman over. Sanji possibly had a desperately poignant visage because the doctors reassured him that everything will be fine. They told him and Koshiro to take a seat on one of the white benches. Then the doctors entered this room through the two white doors that said 'emergency' room.'

Sanji listened at first. He sat on the chair but could not rest nor sit still. He continued to tap his foot noisily as he brushed his hair with his fingers relentlessly. It was as if he all of a sudden had ADHD.

Sanji stood and paced about the wide hallway.

His mind was overflowing, he couldn't control his thoughts. Flashbacks occurred, imaginations ran wild, and as always, guilt overwhelmed. Sanji was at fault. He was the one who wouldn't and didn't stop her. He was the one who encouraged her. _He was the one… It was his entire burden… His responsibility… Nothing changed… That chivalry side…Worthless… _

The blonde was biting his lips so harshly that crimson blood began to dribble down his chin, mingling with his small goatee.

"Sanji, son, please rest at peace, it disorients my thoughts when you run in circles in front of me."

The blonde wiped the blood off his face with his sleeves and did as he was told and for the first time that night, he noticed Koshiro's expression. The older man's eyes were swollen and extremely blood-red. The deep wrinkles on his face appeared deeper than ever and the sullen gaze of his broke Sanji's heart to thousand pieces.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered as he wiped his eyes, tears were finally beginning to form, misting his visions on everything.

There was a pause, a solemn silence. Everything was so quiet that the only thing that was heard was the blonde's strident heartbeats. "It's not your fault son, you're not at fault," Koshiro reassured with a tired voice.

Sanji felt bad for this man. He had lost his wife few years ago and now he was on the verge of losing his daughter. It was such a tragic tale. A man shouldn't be allowed to lose so many things in his life. Not a single person should be allowed to go through such painful events repeatedly.

The world was madly unfair and strictly terrible with humans.

Sanji read the 'no smoking' sign, which was clearly outstretched in front of him, but he smoked anyways. He rested his head backwards and felt the smoke tracing alongside his neck. He closed his eyes and listened to his own breathings. Everything was at peace again.

He finished his few cigarettes and with manners, he had set the ashes in a white cloth that was slightly soaked with the woman's blood. However, the color of the blood on his cloth was no longer red; it was actually turning into the shade of purple/black.

A round clock was in his field of vision and all he could hear was the tick tock the mechanic was making in the stretch of time. Sanji had finished all of his sticks so currently; he was biting his lips once more. The blood from earlier had begun to scab so he tasted the familiar iron playing at the tip of his tongue.

Sanji heard loud footsteps. At first, he disregarded as a noise passing by the hallway but instead of becoming fainter, the sound became louder and that's when the blond realized someone was actually heading this way. He knew who to expect but his heart fell when Koshiro actually greeted the nearing person, "Hello Zoro, glad you made it."

The green haired man sounded angry, infuriated with the current situation, his voice was harsh and demanding, "Tell me what the fuck happened Koshiro, why is Kuina in there?"

Sanji evaded looking at Zoro, he was somewhat afraid. That was the man whom he was supposedly in 'love' with, that was the man whom he kissed 'accidentally,' and he was the lover of the woman whom Sanji couldn't protect. Yes, there were many reasons he was so afraid of this situation.

Calm as ever, Koshiro gently responded to the angered man who sounded like a boy throwing a tantrum at the moment. "You know what happened, calm and be patient, I have taught you better than to act like such in these situations."

"Koshiro, your words are wise but today, you must explain to me what happened." It seemed as if Zoro was gritting his teeth as he said those words back to his master. It was as if he was trying his best to control his temper and not suddenly explode into a raged moment as before.

The older man sighed as he took his glasses off to wipe it with his grey shirt, "You must first understand that she wanted to fight Mihawk as bad as you so she fought and lost."

"Why didn't any of you stop the battle before… this happened?" He questioned with a broken tone and it was as if the question was directed straight towards the blonde.

Sanji swallowed but it was as if his mouth had dried up, all of his saliva had disappeared with the rest of his short lasted peace.

"She wanted this Zoro," Koshiro defended with a stern tone.

Another pair of footsteps was heard and this time, Sanji sighed with relief to see the raven haired man. "Hey Koshiro, how long was Kuina in there?" His tone was slightly lighter than the green haired man's but it was still stiff as it should've been.

"About half an hour, it might take much longer before she is stabilized, you boys should go home and sleep since its pretty late," Koshiro suggested.

The green haired man resisted the suggestion by sitting next to the older man as he mumbled, "I'm staying." And following Zoro's actions, Ace sat too as he grumbled, "me too."

* * *

Few hours have passed and his butt was beginning to seriously ache. Also, his eyelids were drooping. It was really hard to keep his eyes open because of the lack of his sleep the night before. So in order to keep himself awake, he stood up to stretch. "I'm going to the bathroom and get something to eat." He was about to release a yawn after that statement but that would've been way too improper so he held it in with the best of his abilities.

The blonde immediately got up after that comment as he fidgeted uncontrollably, "I need to go too, I need to get myself some smoke, my mouth is itching for some nicotine."Ace nodded as he waved his hands in motion for Sanji to follow.

Unpredictably, someone else volunteered to go with them as well, "I think I need to stretch as well," his back cracked when he stretched and some of the uncovered muscles of his flexed. "Sensei, are you okay with staying here by yourself for awhile?"

"Don't you already treat me like an elder, Zoro," Koshiro irrelatively snapped but that was a indirect permission which allowed them to be excused.

Ace led the group thinking; _well this is certainly going to be awkward._

He was in front and Sanji was only few paces behind with Zoro all the way back. The first person to speak was Zoro who was all casual about this as if he and the blonde cook never had a thing. "So curly brow, what're you doing here?"

The raven haired man perked up and so did Sanji. "Came to meet you shitty marimo, thought our last day together was pretty shitty." It certainly did surprise Ace how normal the blonde sounded and how aggravated as well.

_It's probably from lack of nicotine,_ Ace considered.

"Still using that word 'shitty' huh?"

"Thought I would forget it? I'm not as dumb as you, marimohead."

"I remember that you are a shithead"

The back and forth insults seemed so natural between them that Ace almost forgot that they were supposed to be in a tense situation.

The three of them stopped in front of the hospital building, the shadow of the night was beginning to fade which hinted dawn but the sun hasn't shown itself yet. The waxing crescent was still magnificently shining in the sky above their heads which reminded Ace of an oreo cookie experiment he did back in high school. The thought was so random that it almost cracked him up, which would've been really terrible considering their current situation.

"Marimo, I actually came here to ask if you would still like to be friends…" The blonde started out, he was nervously scratching the back of his head as he spilled those words.

Zoro wasn't surprised since Ace had told him everything already but the raven haired man could tell that his friend had no idea how to respond. "I don't know," Zoro admitted.

Sanji stopped in front of the cigarette vending machine and appeared intent on choosing his pack of cigarettes. "I know I screwed up and shit but I swear that was just an instinctual slip-up, I absolutely do not care for you as anything more than friends." His fingers tightly pressed a button and a whoosh sound was made from the machine.

The green haired man appeared confused as he raised one of his eyebrows, "Really?"

"Yeah, I mean, I know I'm straight and even if I become gay, I wouldn't choose someone like you," Sanji cracked a smile as he reached for his pack of cigarettes.

"Oi, tone down your fucking insults shitty curly brow," the green haired man grumbled.

"Aww, sorry, didn't know you were so sensitive Zoro-chan," Sanji cooed. His lips were now holding a tiny white cigarette stick and a clear smile could be shown in his features.

"Shut the hell up," The green haired man mumbled as he turned away from the group. "I missed you shitty cook," he whispered barely audible but Ace had heard it. Sadly, Sanji hadn't.

The three entered the building with an atmosphere that was so much lighter than before. "Zoro, are you holding up alright?" Ace asked the green haired man since he appeared all stiff again.

"Yeah, I actually am because I know Kuina won't die. She has more willpower to live than me. She'll survive." Even though his tone sounded confident, to Ace, it seemed as if he was trying to convince himself more than others because his tone slightly wavered in amidst of his sentence.

The raven haired man merely nodded, he didn't want to raise the other man's hopes up. It was better to be prepared early than to crash harder at the end.

"Zoro!" Ace recognized the voice all too well. It was his younger brother, Luffy, heading towards them full speed with an angered expression. "Who the hell dared to injure one of my nakamas? I'll beat the shit out of them," he growled as he pulled back his sleeves and tightened his fist.

Not only his brother but the rest of the gang was here as well, even Chopper, who was abroad the last time he had checked. "I heard about Kuina's case, I came here as soon as possible, where is she held at? I might be able to help these doctors somehow," the younger man said with a confident face.

"Oi oi Luffy, fighting won't help in the hospital," the long nosed man pulled Ace's brother back by grabbing his arm.

"Sanji!" Nami called out when she spotted the blonde among them. Her round orange- brown eyes were extended from surprise.

"Nami swan?" The blonde stepped forward as he greeted the lady with a hug, "What are you doing here?" He questioned.

The red haired woman crossed her arms as she exclaimed, "That's what I should be asking you! I just heard from Luffy about Kuina's state."

Sanji glanced left and right as he struggled with his next wordings, his fingers were nervously fidgeting with another. "Well… it's a really long story."

"You can tell me afterwards then," Nami said as she turned back towards Robin who also happened to be here.

Ace was still shocked and apparently Zoro was too because both of them were staring at the group with their mouths gaping open. "W-what are you guys doing here?" They simultaneously asked the crew in a confused motion.

"We were worried, you see?" Brook started out; his dark hand was gripping his familiar cane that secretly hid a sharp weapon.

"Yeah Zoro bro, we all rushed here," Franky added. His appearance clearly showed that he had rushed over here because his blue hair that was usually gelled up was unusually combed down today and his shirt was unbuttoned. Actually, he being a pervert wasn't much different than usual.

"I came with Chopper sensei to help out," Kaya told them with the kindest smile anyone could own and her eyes were incredibly gentle. Usopp was really lucky to have her by his side. Well, that went for Kaya as well since Usopp was a good fellow. Both of them were just perfect for one another.

"Calling me a sensei won't make me happy, you bitch," Chopper said as he grinned widely, swishing his hips side to side. The group smiled at their youngest member because he was too adorable for his own good. But that moment of silliness wore off when the doctor mode turned back on inside Chopper once more, "Where is the patient?"

Zoro finally spoke, his tone was controlled and stoic, "It's that way Chopper, follow me." He began to lead the way for the group to follow.

"WAIT!" Usopp shouted out all of a sudden which grabbed everyone's attention immediately. "Don't follow Zoro, he'll get us lost!" He reasoned with everyone with a hint of sarcasm but mostly seriousness intended.

"Ah," Luffy said as he slammed his fist onto his hand, "That's right, Zoro is stupid."

The green haired man barked at the two younger males, "You bastards!" For that moment, it was as if his anguish and poignant air had disappeared. "Fine," Zoro compromised as the creases in his face deepened with his frown, "Ace, you lead." His face held a pout and a very displeased expression; it was quite funny to see such a stoic man acting this way.

Ace managed to crack a smile at the whole situation, "Sure, I won't lead us into Mexico or anything," he continued the joke. It caused the whole group to erupt into fits of giggles and chuckles, everyone except Zoro that is.

"Bastard," the green haired man growled but it held little venom.

When the group was in front of the emergency room, Chopper and Kaya hurriedly rushed in. They were both well known doctors so they were welcomed in without a further question.

Koshiro greeted everyone in the group in a kind motion. This old man was well liked by everyone because of his soft and casual ways.

The crew continued typical conversations to create a much lighter mood. It was a way they used to be free of any worries for the moment and it essentially worked. Luffy and Usopp repeatedly did idiotic things to make the situation feel less dismal.

The jokes somehow even managed to make Koshiro laugh.

Usopp was boasting about something he had apparently experienced but everyone knew that he was telling a lie. "And then, a gigantic goldfish has pooped an island, the island was filled with human giants, dinosaurs, and-"In amidst of his lies, Chopper stepped out of the emergency room with a grim expression. The long nosed man stopped when he saw the little man's expression, "What's wrong Chopper?"

Chopper choked on his next words, his eyes were slightly filled with tears, "I-I tried everything I could… "

**AN: **So, in the last chapter, some of you had made some funny comments, funny as in strange. The ending of this chapter might've displeased some of you but I promise you, I have this laid out. Well, it might not please everyone at the end but it's a way for me to continue the story, I hope you guys understand.

Putting that aside, the next chapter might come even more later on because I kind of want to write something for Halloween, I haven't really pinpointed my idea yet but I want to do something. If I don't decide soon, I'll just upload my chapter in replacement.

I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter o_o it's hard for me to write angst but I like writing angst because it gets emotional. My writing was slightly off but I hope you guys didn't mind. Thank you guys for awesome comments and I love every one of you! You guys encourage me to continue ^^!


	18. Chapter 18

_The long nosed man stopped when he saw the little man's expression, "What's wrong Chopper?"_

_Chopper choked on his next words, his eyes were slightly filled with tears, "I-I tried everything I could… "_

His stomach fell as if a thousand stones suddenly decided to pile down inside his body. Sound escaped his lips but it much more vibrated through the air as a croak, "What happened." The hallway was awfully quiet, way too quiet for his favor. He would've rather have overwhelming noises surrounding him instead of this dreadful silence that sent infinite appalling thoughts to his brain. He wonders out of curiosity what Chopper has to say but concurrently, he, for once, fears the response.

The room spun in an exaggerated movement as Chopper's mouth moved in slow motion, "Kuina is dead." The words he whispered struck out the last faint of hope that still managed to linger within Zoro's heart.

He was someone who accepted tragedy far more easily than others seeing that he was an assassin at one point in his life. Death never meant anything to him beforehand but it was somehow different this time. It affected him so heavily that it caused him to desire revenge. He sought to chase after that bastard Mihawk and slit his throat. Zoro wanted to leave the hospital and sleep in peace in hope that everything was just a mere dream. He wanted to weep and act accordingly to what a normal person would do in a situation facing a loved one's death but he couldn't. His mind was in too much of a shock from the news.

"Are you okay Zoro? Please answer me," Chopper asked in his somber voice with great concern. Huge dark bags were under this tiny doctor's large brown eyes that Zoro faintly wondered how he was still conscious. Chopper pushed himself way too far many times for his patients.

He still felt as if the world was crumbling beneath his feet, helplessly dragging him underneath into the depths of hell called reality.

These endless thoughts threatened to emerge; about to break through his utmost composure, but of course, he kept it well hidden. Zoro nodded with all his might to the group who were all intently staring at him. Those eyes felt as if they were burning through his skin, making him want to cower in a corner which was certainly different from what he would've usually done. He found it hard to breath as if the room was getting smaller, depriving him of the necessary oxygen.

But Zoro wasn't ignorant. He knew the news wasn't affecting him and himself alone. He knew that there was someone else in the group who was suffering over this affliction far more harshly than him, someone who cared utmost for Kuina and had a much bigger heart than Zoro.

Koshiro's eyes were hidden behind his rough shaped hands, round glasses lifted right above his eyebrows with the aid of his fingers. His expression was completely cast away and it was entirely unpredictable of what his responses would be like. Zoro could almost imagine this gentle man becoming infuriated, livid and fuming for his precious daughter's death. He could almost see Koshiro wielding Kuina's Wado in order to do the bid of what his daughter could not achieve. He wanted Koshiro to understand how he himself felt, he desired for someone else to be able to grasp his emotions.

But these thoughts were all but a wishful imagination. Koshiro, in reality, plainly and benevolently spoke stoically with a very faint hint of sorrow. "You did your best Dr. Chopper, fate has spoken. It's not your fault," with his words, the tone of his voice was also gentle. The rough fingers ruffled the crying boy's hair reassuring, silently cheering him up.

However, the tender and moderate response by Koshiro brought nothing but more tears by the young doctor. The wet, salty discharge increased with a rapid pace resembling much of a waterfall as he speedily spoke repentantly and apologetically. "If only I had gotten here earlier, she would've been saved. If only today wasn't raining, she would've been saved. I could've helped her if I was a better doctor… _hic_… If I had more knowledge, nobody would be sad right now… It's my entire fault." The little guy was sobbing uncontrollably.

Zoro didn't know what to do; he was not used to people lamenting and breaking their shells before him. In usual occasions, he would tell Chopper to suck it up and continue on like a man because in his mentality, crying was a sign of weakness. And weaknesses were not meant to be shown towards others. But how could he say that now when Chopper was crying for him?

"Chopper, how in the _hell_ could it be your fault, you tried your best and that's all it matters. Do you control the weather? Are you fucking God? _No! _Then, stop acting like it's your fault because it isn't." Someone in the group spoke reason, someone who happened to be the idiot love cook. Zoro abruptly recalled that Sanji was here in the room with him and the others. In addition, he remembered how much Sanji valued women. How this blonde would rather die, sacrifice himself, rather than to have a single speck of injury upon a woman's body. "You were just trying to fix my mistakes…" Sanji concluded and the end of his sentence splintered allowing Zoro to view the blonde's immense shame and guilt.

The young doctor stared into the cook's eyes with a pout before lowering his gaze in shame. "It's not your fault either…" He tried to defend but Sanji would not hear the end of it, the blonde merely shook his head and placed an end to this poignant conversation.

. . .

The group dispersed in a stiff way and Zoro followed after Ace who was dreadfully too calm just like his brother. The hospital was more alive than before since it was the preface of another afternoon. Nurses were aiding their patients with forged smiles and the patients merely appeared gloom, reflecting how Zoro felt at this very moment.

Zoro vaguely wished for a higher being's existence in hope for an afterlife for Kuina. Even though he was an atheist and completely and utterly believed only in his own sole power, not anyone else's, he longed for his prior reflections to be all erroneous. Just so Kuina would not be simply rotting underneath the ground as if her life meant nothing. As if her existence had never mattered.

Zoro felt incredibly numb because he still could not grasp a world where Kuina isn't alive anymore. He still partially believed that if he just went to the dojo, he would see her practicing gracefully and marvelously with a sword that was pure as her soul. But again, that was another wishful thinking of his, a yearning he knew he had to abandon because he knew it was not true.

Koshiro and few others remained behind to say their last farewells to Kuina's empty shell but Zoro saw it as of no use. He knew the words would noiselessly be choked up in between his throat if he ever saw her lifeless form.

He knew that by seeing her body, it would be hundred percent proven that she is actually dead.

. . .

The funeral wasn't enormous or extravagant.

It was merely a gathering of random people who faintly knew Kuina at some point in their lives. Some expressed their gratitude to Koshiro saying that Kuina had made a huge impact upon their lives while others just came to remorse and leave. But every single one of them had something to say to the peaceful form of this beautiful young woman lying serenely in her coffin.

Zoro remained hidden under the shade of a sycamore tree until everyone left with their last farewells. He stared at Kuina's restful form and wondered how she was dead. He still believed that she would snap her eyes open and grin his way playfully while saying, "It was all a joke Zoro," as she began to run from Zoro's building fury.

But he only wished.

He ran his finger along her lips and whispered "goodbye," before the coffin enclosed for good and she was buried in peace.

. . .

Days and Nights passed without a single warning. Zoro fell unconscious most of the times. He slept when he wasn't tired and when it wasn't necessary. He ate when his stomach growled. He trained when his muscles itched for some movement. But mostly, he slept, collapsing at any time of the day. He didn't dream or try to recollect memories of Kuina, he simply fell unconsciousness, entering darkness of his own. It was as if he wasn't even a human being anymore, just this robotic figure who simply did everything in command.

He rubbed his eyes because his eyelids were threatening to close from exhaustion even though he absolutely did nothing today except for few hundreds of pull-ups. Each time he closed his eyes, he found it harder to open it back up and this continued until he found himself dozing off.

In the shadows of his slumber, he heard the faintest of sounds, soft yet rustic thumps that were obviously heard from outside of his door. Zoro rubbed his eyes in a drowsy motion as he softly ran towards the entrance of his house. He hadn't had a single guest or any human contact in weeks.

He didn't know what he was hoping for but the disappointment was enormous when the door swung open to reveal Koshiro who was smiling nonchalantly his way. "Good afternoon Zoro, how are you feeling? I brought you some food," Koshiro told him as he walked in with a plastic bag hanging down on his hand. "You probably haven't had anything healthy in awhile and since I needed to talk to you about something, I thought it was a good idea to come and visit you." He was still smiling widely as he rested the bag on top of Zoro's gray marble counter.

The green haired man yawned as he sat in front of Koshiro at the dining table. "What did you want to talk about?" He asked as his fingers curiously reached for the two bento boxes decorated extremely intricately inside the white plastic bag. Zoro silently wondered who in the hell even bothered to embellish someone else's lunch. It would taste the same in the end anyways.

The pleasant crinkles disappeared on the old man's face and a serious aura emerged within those stern eyes. "You're probably rustling in anger, hatred, and vengeance but as I told you before, those are not valid reasons to-"

"I know Koshiro, I know. I won't act on vengeance." Zoro felt a hint of annoyance for Koshiro's doubt in him. But instead of portraying his emotions, he distracted himself by eating.

At the first bite, he instantaneously recognized the creator of this bento. "That curly asked you to give me this didn't he?" The taste was clearly unique and Zoro was able to distinguish that damn cook's food from anybody else's. He slightly felt embarrassed because he should have been able to deduce that it was the cook's just by seeing it at first glance.

Koshiro appeared taken aback from this recognition made by the green haired man. "Ah, yes, it seems that he was concerned for your well being. He insisted that I bring you these bentos. I have to say, he's very talented in that area."

The green haired man snorted as he stuffed his face further. On the other hand, he really did miss that blonde's cooking since it was truly unforgettable. Zoro was just glad to taste it once more. "He's okay at cooking I guess, I tasted better," Zoro lied through his fully stuffed cheeks, words ironically contradicting with his actions.

The older man did not flinch nor did he say anything of Zoro's rude table manners, partially because he was so used to these instead of wasting time, he simply retrieved his aforementioned subject. "As I was saying Zoro, anger is like acid, it will harm you more than the opponent."

Zoro exhaled deeply before reacting snappily, "Koshiro I get it, get to the point already." His tone held a great amount of impatience which he knew was heavily inappropriate and discourteous but his lack of human contacts for weeks has made him forget what talking to another person was like. It was as if he could not recall what was proper or whatnot.

As always, Koshiro responded in a calm manner which somehow ashamed Zoro in an unspoken way. "Patience is the key Zoro but I have to admit, my points were becoming a bit dull so I'll get to the point now…"

* * *

"Sanji!" Some irritating head chef called out angrily towards his direction with a large spatula in his hand. It seemed as if he had another problem with how the blonde did things.

Even though blue veins were beginning to pop out across the blonde's forehead, he could not bear to lose another job so he endeavored to maintain his annoyance to a minimum. "What?" Sanji replied casually with five plates on top of his palm. He would've much preferred a cooking job but not many required a chef so Sanji was stuck doing the usual waiter labors.

At the laid back response, the head chef became even redder in the face than primarily. Also, his dark mustache was twitching with his left eye which was quite the comical sight but the blonde wasn't in the mood to laugh. And so wasn't the cook. "I TOLD YOU TO STOP FLIRTING WITH EVERY LADY IN SIGHT AND GET BACK TO WORK!" This man was literally heaving and huffing fire out of his systems which explicitly portrayed his anger issues.

The blonde rolled his eyes because he had been told about this issue many times in the past but he just couldn't help it. Every lady in sight must be adored and treated affectionately by him. It was his main motto in life which many saw as a waste of time. But to him, it was one of his greatest accomplishments as well as goal. "Shut the hell up you fucking Mario. Don't tell me what to do," he spat as he initiated in taking off his apron.

The Italian man with a familiar mustache of the chubby animated character turned bitter with distaste as he shouted, "GET OUT OF MY RESTAURANT!" He snatched the apron away from the blonde's hands forcefully and pointed his index finger in the direction of the exit.

Even though the weather was launching itself to be gentle and temperate, Sanji's internal turmoil made it unfeasible for him to relax into it. "Shitty restaurant, shitty mario, shitty everything," he murmured beneath his breath as he lit two cigarettes at once to tranquil his twitching nerves. "And shitty Marimo," he finalized with the thought of the green haired man.

Earlier, Sanji handed two bento boxes to Koshiro in order for Zoro to actually have healthy meals since it was rather palpable that the green haired man could not take care of himself. Even though those actions have been purely based off of this need to take care of others, Sanji slightly felt regret because his correlation with Zoro has been hazy ever since Kuina's death.

The blonde's insomniac disorder has gotten worse ever since that incident. Each night when he rested, he could not find peace within himself with images of her blood soaking his hands. And some nights, he would even rush to the bathroom and wash his hands until they became raw. Then afterwards, he would spill all his contents into the toilet with a clear reflection of his guilt and distress.

The lack of sleep and the feelings of overwhelming anxiety caused him to feel angrier than ever before. Which evidently explained his earlier outbursts towards that mario cook and many other head chefs of his previous jobs.

Sanji hadn't been able to maintain a job ever since Baratie and his financial problems have been increasing ever since. But even in such a predicament, he wouldn't dare to ask anybody for help, especially to his old man Zeff. That old fart helped him enough already in the past. Sanji wasn't about to lower his pride and beg for his job back.

Each time Zeff called to check up on him, Sanji would respond casually, reassuring that old fart that everything is alright with him even though he was on the verge of being kicked out of his apartment. The blonde wanted to prove to Zeff that he could take care of himself. He wanted Zeff to believe in Sanji. He wanted Zeff to know that Sanji wasn't such a waste of time after all, that losing his leg meant some value at the end.

The blonde shook these thoughts out of his head because it was no use getting all dramatic and dejected except to feel more dismayed than previously.

After finishing his two cigarettes simultaneously, he picked up his cell and dialed in his lovely Nami-san's number.

"Hello?" She answered to his call straightway but her voice seemed strangely out of breath.

Sanji cleared his throat before speaking. "Hello Nami-Swan, I'm so sorry to bother you, I just wanted to know if you're free today." He used his most loving voice through the phone.

The other lined remained silent for few seconds before she answered, "Sorry Sanji-kun… But I don't think right now is good time for me r-right now." She was still out of breath and strangely sounded desperate.

The blonde begun to worry as his eyebrows bunched up together, "Is there anything wrong Nami-san? I mean, I can come right now if you want-"His chivalrous side fired up but those thought immediately halted when a moan escaped from the other end of the line.

"No no, don't do that Sanji-kun, I repeat, do not…_ nngh… _do that. I have to…_ hah_… go."

The line clicked and it left Sanji blushing like crazy. Her final words certainly got him in a way only a woman could. Her voice, her moan rang through his head yet again and he could not help but to imagine her expression as she made such erotic sounds.

Even while his feelings of her changed, he was still a man who was easily affected by women. "I'm such a pervert," he muttered to himself as he tried to cool his burning cheeks. Sanji certainly did not expect for the red haired woman to pick up her phone while having sex.

Nami's intimate partner was certainly the lucky fucker.

The bare trees surrounding Sanji was beginning to re-cloth itself with its fresh baby green leaves with the commencement of a new season. The overwhelming scent of fresh meadows was certainly refreshing to the blonde. But it certainly would've been better if Sanji didn't have these damn allergies. He sniffled when dribbles of snot threatened to drip down.

Sanji silently cursed at his misfortune.

* * *

The green haired man groaned as he buried his face into his hands. His head was throbbing vigorously with his beating heart and a faint static was heard inside his ears. "Dammit Koshiro," he gritted his teeth as he said those vain words. "Tell me why, you're not making any sense in my head right now." Zoro couldn't even continue eating anymore since the delight of the taste died cruelly.

"Listen carefully Zoro, this may be your only chance to exceed in swordsmanship because I no longer have the ability to assist you further in your path. As I have told you before, you need someone far greater in strengths and skills than I. You require someone who can be fully respected, someone who portrays power and not arrogance. He has to know that behind swordsmanship, it is not only strength but something more." The older gentleman flexed his fingers against one another and gazed into Zoro's hazel eyes keenly. "And I have concluded that this new sensei of yours can only be Mihawk himself."

Zoro felt undeniably tired and hopeless. He could not believe such a situation was forced upon him.

Before the green haired man got a chance to say anything, Koshiro continued, "I have heard from a friend of mine that Mihawk is currently looking for an apprentice in Japan but first, you must triumph as number one in a kendo competition." There were unsaid words that conspicuously told Zoro that Koshiro believed in his strengths and that he could effortlessly attain victory.

Part of him desperately sought to take this offer because it had been his dream to meet the greatest swordsman. But he sensed this doubt spreading rapidly like poison. It felt like betrayal to Kuina. How could he possibly learn from someone knowing that he had killed her? How could he possibly control his anger around this man he hardly knew anything about except for the mere fact that he is a murderer? These questions were left unspoken by Zoro, instead, the only words that managed to squeeze through were, "I'll think about it."

Koshiro warned him that the competition is going to be held next week and that Zoro has to make his mind up really soon.

After the older man's departure, Zoro was left alone with his inner turmoil and conflict within himself. This forced a ripple in Zoro's nonchalant nature and he found himself way more anxious than usual. He couldn't even take his usual nap. As an alternative, he began to jog around his house and when the space was not enough for him indoors, he took it outside.

With the beating melody of his Japanese music humming through his system, he felt as if he was soaring. Zoro almost felt his feet gliding over the cement because he was running _that_ fast. He turned his eyes up to the star-filled sky. He observed the different stars and constellations above and his thoughts settled upon the soothing memory of nights in the dojo with Kuina. It somehow managed to still his troubling mind.

After a long run, Zoro eventually stopped to look around. Even though he was traveling to nowhere in particular, he felt as if his surroundings were incredibly familiar.

His reverie completely dissipated when Zoro took the earplugs out of his ears. He stared at the recognizable building in utter shock because he had somehow ended up in front of Sanji's apartment.

Zoro disheveled his own hair as he begun to head indoors thinking no further than the present itself. Without another reflection on his actions, he knocked on the blonde's door eagerly, truly hoping that Sanji was home.

When the green haired man heard that familiar tone of voice, his heart skipped a little. And when he saw that pale complexion, those golden locks, and that piercing blue eye, Zoro had to admit, his stomach was doing some flips. "Hey," he found himself saying casually as if he just hadn't barged into the blonde's privacy and not a single thing happened between the two of them in the past.

The blonde's expression was somewhat of a mixture of surprise, displeasure, and delight. It made Zoro wonder what he was thinking at that exact moment. "What the fuck?" Sanji swore loudly and it completely threw the green haired man out of the loop since he certainly wasn't expecting that answer. "Why the hell are you here?"

"Nice to see you again too cook," Zoro smirked as he saluted him. "Are you going let me stand here all night or are you going to let me in?" He indifferently rested his shoulder in between the closing space of the door.

The blonde smirked back as he replied, "That's a tough question. I kind of want to see you suffer right outside of my door but I have some reputation to keep around here so I'll let you in."A lively tone of music was immediately heard when Zoro stepped indoors. After quickly enclosing his door shut, Sanji ran off to the kitchen, cursing nonstop, "Shit, shit, shit, I fucking see smoke. This is your shitty fault mosshead."

Zoro glanced around the home he had once spent a whole week in and noticed that all appeared exactly as before.

After a quick look around, the green haired man's fleeting glimpse fell hopelessly back to the cook who was currently humming to the booming melody as he shook his frying pan. "What are you doing?" He asked Sanji curiously and sneakily peeked into the pan.

"Cooking," the blonde affirmed a very obvious statement and before Zoro had a chance to irritably retort, Sanji turned to face him with a spoon in his hand. "Wanna try?" He asked with his lean lips slightly curving upward. Zoro's eyes widened but the surprise didn't forbid him from taking a free bite of the blonde's brilliant cooking's. "Pretty good isn't it?" Sanji cockily asked as he tilted his head arrogantly.

As always, Zoro replied with "its okay," but they both knew it was such a lie. These were the best fried rice Zoro has ever tasted in his whole entire life. The small portion the cook cruelly handed him merely made him desire for more.

"Guess you don't want more then," Sanji snidely said as he spilled the content onto his own plate, slowly carrying it away from Zoro's sight. He switched the radio off and headed for his TV screen. "But if you do, get it yourself."

The green haired man had his own pride to follow but with that delicious scent tickling his nose, he could not resist. He impatiently scooped himself a large portion of fried rice and settled down next to the blonde who was watching family guy, laughing occasionally at some gags. "How have you been?" Sanji unexpectedly asked Zoro when the commercial came on, his blue eyes casually glancing over at the green haired man.

"I've been sleeping a lot, uh eating, and sleeping…" He listed all the activities he had been doing for the past months.

The blonde's eyes rolled. "That's what every normal human being does mosshead. I meant anything special, anything new. You know, interesting stuff." He sounded awfully frustrated as if he was attempting to communicate with an ape, not a human being.

Zoro furrowed his brows, "I worked out and meditated sometimes. I don't know curly brow, why do you even care anyways?" He asked but as soon as that question slipped out of his tongue, he immediately recognized that the blonde was trying to ask how Zoro have been over Kuina's death.

"It's the usual conversation starter marimo, haven't anyone taught you manners or anything?" Sanji irrelatively sighed afterwards.

"I wasn't raised to be a snob," Zoro snorted and grinned maliciously. Sanji's eyebrows twitched and a string of insults soon came right after which certainly was expected from this foul mouthed blonde. The green haired man heartily laughed at his reaction and laughed some more when Sanji attacked him with his infamous leg.

"Never knew that you wanted to tackle me to the ground so badly cook," he commented when Sanji's weight crushed against his.

Without delay, the blonde's cheeks begun to glow from embarrassment and the highlight of his rosy cheeks simply deepened with every split second. His body stiffened from the remark and his mouth stammered as if he could not find the right words to say.

"You're sticky," Sanji at last remarked with a slight disgusted tone.

Zoro had to admit, this cook was pretty skilled at changing topics. "I ran miles before I came here. Of course I would be sticky," he sarcastically answered as he lightly pushed the cook off of him. "I should go home. I need to take a shower," Zoro said after sniffing himself a bit, the odor was not too pleasant.

The blonde rolled over and landed quick on his feet. "Well, you could take a shower here if you want," he suggested in a relaxed manner. "And, I may have some extra clothes for you so…"

Zoro crossed his arms and smirked, "Wow, you're actually being nice to me shitcook, should I be scared?" The offer from the blonde was unusual but the swordsman couldn't say that it was completely unexpected since Sanji wasn't a complete dickhead most of the times.

Sanji clenched his jaws lightly around his cigarette, "it's called manners, something you obviously lack, damn marimo." Even though his tone was meant to be retaliating, the green haired man could spot a playful gesticulation.

The blonde did not wait for Zoro to respond, he strolled off into his bedroom to get the swordsman something to wear. When Sanji came in sight again, he handed Zoro his own clothes. "Here"

The swordsman silently took the given clothes and sauntered off to the bathroom, "I'll be done in about ten minutes," he promised the blonde cook who was staring out staring out the window with an indistinct front, steadily breathing out a certain amount of air from his system.

"Sure," he responded quietly, keeping his eyes on the striking night sky that held not a single star above.

. . .

Soft as cotton, that was all the green haired man could think of when he came in contact with the blonde's clothes. Also the mixed scent of nicotine with a certain spice he could not define overfilled his nostrils. It certainly did not fit the classification of a 'bad scent' in Zoro's opinion. Instead, the fragrance was quite intoxicating as well as overwhelming. It triggered the moments he shared with Sanji.

The T-shirt the blonde had given him felt a bit tight but it couldn't be helped since Sanji did have a smaller frame than him.

Zoro was still drying his hair with a white towel when he walked into the living room again. The cook had not moved a single inch from when Zoro had last saw him and his entranced appearance was hypnotizing in some ways. "Oi cook," he called out to grab the other man's attention.

Leisurely, those blue eyes turned in the direction of the green haired man. "Going home now mosshead?" The dark streaks underneath the blonde's spherical eyes caused him to appear wary and much older than his actual age.

"I guess, it's pretty late and I'm tired as hell so I'll see you la-"Zoro stopped himself. He could not be making false or unsure promises that he might not be able to keep because if he happens to take Koshiro's offer, his next meeting with Sanji might not be so soon. "Bye cook," Zoro replaced his words hastily in order to not appear suspicious. For some certain rationale, he could not bring the topic of his going away to the blonde.

* * *

The green haired man had collected his belongings and was already halfway out the door. Sanji longed to reach out. He wanted to pull Zoro back inside. But all he could do was smile halfheartedly while saying his farewells and he playfully kicked Zoro on the ass to hurry the leaving process, actions contradicting his yearnings.

A flash of guilt crossed Zoro's eyes but Sanji believed to have imagined it. After all, what could the green haired man be guilty about? "Bye curly brow," the swordsman repeated these words once more before departure.

Something was dreadfully wrong; the blonde felt it in his gut. Every fiber of his body was telling him to grab and latch onto the muscular man before him but Sanji resisted. He merely smiled until the door slammed shut and his house was all silent yet again.

_Fucking coward, _a faint voice whispered, reflecting Sanji's own thoughts of himself.

**AN: **Damn, I'm sorry that this chapter took ridiculously long. It was extremely hard to write for some reason but I hope you enjoyed it. I know it was somewhat rushed but I just thought it was necessary to get this chapter out really soon. I appreciate those who stayed with me until now and I'll try my best to be quicker with the next chapter. ^^


	19. Chapter 19

Zoro feels his pocket vibrate and it sends shocking shivers throughout his body, but of course, the frigidness of the night air aids in creating these recurring shudders. His frozen fingers clutch the metallic machinery so he could respond, "hello?" When he utters the word, he spots a cloud of smoke escaping his lips, created by a mixture of cold and hot.

Koshiro speaks over the phone. "Ah Zoro, I'm so sorry to bother you at such an inconvenient time since it is midnight after all but this is really important." The man on the other line pauses in order to catch his breath. "My friend just informed me that the last flight leaving to Japan is tomorrow. Not the very final plane but the last one that can make it before your competition. I know you usually need a great length of time for your decisions but not this time. I have to ask you to make your choice right now."

The green haired man feels his pulse quicken as he hastily processes the information. He hadn't been thinking of these matters at all because he had been far too distracted by a certain blonde cook all night. The pressure weighs heavily upon his shoulders and his stomach tightens in panic. Truthfully speaking, Zoro isn't someone who can make intellectual decisions in an instant so he wasn't about to. "Koshiro, what do you think?" The green haired man recognizes the importance of Koshiro's judgment on his own behalf. After all, Koshiro had always been able to guide Zoro throughout the most crucial moments and he was pretty sure that this time was no exception from others.

In a straight forward manner, the older gentleman replies, "I have suggested this, have I not? If you want to advance in swordsmanship, I do strongly recommend that you take this offer." His answer held a blunt edge and a slight bit of a stern implication to it.

_That settles it_. Zoro knew that he would not be able to argue with this issue any longer. He discusses few more important materials with Koshiro, such as what time the plane will depart tomorrow, where he will reside in Japan, and how much cash and supplies will be required. The older gentleman enlightens him specifically and clearly without any signs of vacillation and it shows how thoroughly Koshiro went over this situation.

When the green haired man arrives to his house, he held a clear idea of what to do overnight; pack his stuff, notify some of his friends, and meditate to calm his nerves, which palpably meant that sleep would not be an option. It was entirely fine with the swordsman because he had been caught up on sleep for awhile now. It would not make a difference if he skipped that habitual routine a night or two.

He was in midst of notifying his friends of his sudden departure when Sanji's face came into his mentality. Zoro wasn't sure whether to inform that man or not. There was no reason for him not to but there weren't any reason for him to do so as well. He decidedly placed the blonde's name at the end of his list and put him off until everyone else was informed first.

Most sounded pretty aggravated at the beginning of his calls because of the late hour but their voices eventually became sentimental at the mention of his going away plans. Even Ace and Luffy sounded gloomy over this news. The two brothers wished him the best of luck and requested Zoro to learn some Japanese food recipes. The swordsman uncertainly promised the two but surreptitiously knew that he wasn't going to be able to keep such a doubtful condition. After all, he was no Sanji, quite far from being an idiotic cook with deformed eyebrows he'll have to say.

He tilts his head ever so slightly as he clutches his lean chin. Zoro is still deciding whether to notify the cook or not when his heavy eyelids gently close. He finds himself escaping reality, entering a blank state of mind. The atmosphere surrounding him stills for his favor and all turns silent until his vision becomes vacant as well. Zoro holds a comfortable position and the hours began to travel by as if only minutes are passing. He exhales heavily when his mind comes into focus once more. He feels much calmer than beforehand and he believes himself to be able to make a better assessment in his actions relating to the cook.

Zoro turns the wheels in his brain as he embarks on his hesitation before. Why was he so afraid to notify Sanji of his departure? A small piece of his mind reminds him that it is because the blonde had the tiniest crush on the swordsman and it would be better for Zoro to disappear without any notice. However, he himself opposed that idea, he felt that to be cold hearted and uncouth. So he wonders even further until he arrives to the strangest conclusion.

_Maybe I have feelings for the cook?_

However, he could not decide how that statement relates to his former dilemma at all. It was such an out of the blue declaration that it confused the hell out of the swordsman. However, he was not able to defy the earlier heart skips with the time spent with Sanji and those sudden heartaches at the thought of not being able to see the blonde for years afterwards. It was somewhat similar to those moments spent with Kuina before he confessed his love for her but it was also much different seeing how the blonde's personality varied from his deceased lover.

He shakes his head as he feels this building stress affecting his tranquility from before. Zoro had always been the sort who went with the flow, following instincts and not his thoughts. And currently, his instincts were simply telling him to get over with it. Just speak to Sanji and tell him.

"OI ZORO! OPEN UP!" Zoro abruptly halts in middle of his procedures as he perks up to his own name being called.

He swiftly jumps to his feet as he swings the door open to numerous common faces. "Surprise!" The intruding group shouts as they grin widely in his direction. Zoro creases his eyebrows but sets aside, permitting the cluster of group to enter his residence.

"Why are you guys here?" He questions, not that he was bothered or anything.

The strawhat boy lifts a plastic bag containing abundant amount of booze and dangles it in front of Zoro's eyes. "To have a party before you leave. I know that you like alcohol a lot so I made sure to buy a lot of it. I also bought a lot of meat so you can eat a lot!" His smile outstretches so far that it nearly touches both sides of his ears and seeing this contagious spirit, it undoubtedly lifts the swordsman's mood from earlier.

"Thanks Luffy," Zoro eagerly expresses his gratitude as he seizes the plastic bag containing his favorite beverage.

The group consisting of his closest friends settle themselves on his Tatami(mat made of straws) and most stretch their feet out underneath his outsized stumpy table to get comfortable. Everyone appears to be satisfied with these conditions and some even takes an extra effort by grilling some barbecue on the grill for Luffy who seems to be the most animated one. He is currently holding a fork and a knife enthusiastically and singing some pirate tune that the green haired man was able to easily recognize, since after all, that was Brook's favorite melody to play.

Ace clasps his hand on the swordsman's back as he leads Zoro to the table, vociferously communicating directly into his ear, "Man, we're going to miss you a lot, I can't believe that you're going to leave us for Japan. I know that it's your homeland and all but I really wish you could stay." Everyone's faces became additionally cheerless, which was nothing like their usual selves. The green haired man feels guilt for placing such expressions onto his friends.

Zoro didn't inform his friends of the whole thing, he faintly hinted swordsmanship in Japan but that was about it. He did not mention Mihawk and he certainly did not mention him being taken under the greatest swordsman's wings. It somehow felt like a betrayal to his group, taking lessons from the man who snatched Kuina's life away. He knew being silent about this matter would be the best solution.

The rest of the night went smoothly, stories were exchanged, laughter was shared, music was played, and foods were consumed at a rapid pace by Luffy. It made everyone wish a certain blonde was here in this room with them. Zoro laughed couple of times but the majority of the night he merely sat back and watched great chaos unfold before him. Commotion and turmoil were obvious traits of his crew and Zoro occasionally contributed to these roles but not today. His mind was far too distracted for such an involvement today.

Everyone became pretty tired and wasted in couple of hours (even Nami), except for Zoro of course. He sat in the corner in a dazed state as he daydreamed of particular events of the past. He hadn't felt this free and relaxed since his lover's funeral. His crew always managed to work some type of magic to release his mind of worries and concerns.

A night that had been forgotten until now struck clearly into his brain.

When he and Kuina decided to use real swords for the first time ever, Zoro truly believed a death would end the night for both. It was also the first night Kuina extracted her Wado Ichimonji from its scabbard, a gift from her father. Zoro recalled how the white katana glistened under the white moon and how it moved with Kuina as if they were one, as if the sword was an extra length to her arm and not a weapon clutched by her hand.

When that collective memory clashed against his thoughts, he jolted up straight. That white sword, he felt the need to get a hold of it. Wado held many recollections with his beloved lover and it almost held her very soul. He had to grasp that beautiful katana in order to fulfill his dream as well as hers since he desired to reach the top _with_ Kuina.

Zoro knew that the limit in time would not allow him to come back home so he quickly grabbed his travel cases and sprinted outside, keen to catch a taxi. He had written a final note to his friends who were all presently knocked out. Even if he had been impatient to leave, he had wholehearted written the note, wishing them all luck for the next two years. He knew that they were able to survive of his absence, possibly forget about his existence but he rather have such than have them saddened by his departure.

. . .

When he reaches the dojo, he breathlessly dashes to Koshiro's room. Rather uncouthly, he slides the doors open wide, desperate to find this old man. And somewhat unexpectedly, Koshiro happens to be in there holding Kuina's white sword in hand as if he knew Zoro would be coming for it. His eyes underneath those glasses flicker Zoro's way and his mouth linger unwavering, remaining completely emotionless.

Many commented on how stoic Zoro appeared in the past but seeing his sensei now, he would have to say his blank expressions in comparison had always been completely ineffectual and amateurish.

Those indecipherable eyes follow the green haired man until he takes a spot on the floor in front of his sensei. Zoro respectfully sits in a formal position, painfully on his knees as he patiently waits for Koshiro to speak the opening sentence.

"I guess it would be foolish of me to ask why you're here," Koshiro begins with a warm tone. Zoro did not respond so the older swordsman continues, "I did not give you your airplane ticket yet. It would be bad for you to leave without a ticket."

The green haired man shakes his head as he frowns at Koshiro's misconception. Usually his sensei was never wrong about these analyses so it stunned Zoro a bit. He quickly denies the speculation, "That's not the reason sensei, I came to-"

Koshiro cuts him off, "People are such fragile things aren't they?" Yet again, the green haired swordsman remains silent. The older gentleman stares above, evading Zoro's curious eyes that were directed his way.

He begins to elucidate his former question that was left unanswered. "Kuina had always been the competitive one. She practiced in this dojo ever since she was a child and achieved strength that exceeded adults but because of this, she became arrogant. When you appeared, you begun to grow in swordsmanship at a rapid pace, it made Kuina want to train further in order to not lose to you. She didn't want to lose to a boy. Kuina became stronger and stronger, breaking down barriers a female normally wouldn't be able to achieve." The melancholy crosses his appearance as he looks straight into Zoro's eyes, almost as if looking straight into his soul. "However, I'm just an ordinary father; I did not want her to take such a dangerous path. When I look at you, it pains me too." He then turns away as if the sight of Zoro actually grieves him terribly.

Silence hangs in the air heavily and it weighs on the two until it becomes extremely hard to breathe in. The memories Koshiro just spoken brought numerous and countless memories of the swordsman's lost beloved. The thought of Kuina pained him. It always did, but he had chosen numbness over pain which made it seem as if he wasn't feeling anything. Hearing these words from Koshiro at this instant reminded the green haired man everything of Kuina; her laughter, her voice, her grace, overwhelming thoughts of her that sent splinters straight into his heart.

_Kuina_, another alluring image of her flickers inside his brain, the figure of her body resting peacefully inside a coffin. He encloses his fist over his chest as he sobs loudly. It hurt so much to see her clear image inside his head again.

Zoro bit his lips in order to stop the trembles and the whimpers that were starting to form within his throat. Electric tears pierce his eyes like the blade of a knife and he was not able to stop himself from weeping. The tears came steadily, like a faucet, slowly dripping down his cheeks. "Sensei," his voice sounded exceedingly grief-stricken even in his ears and it echoed throughout the empty spaces surrounding the two. "Please let me have that sword."

Koshiro glances at his figure then towards his daughter's sword which was lying peacefully next to him, "My daughter's sword?" He questions Zoro.

The green haired man releases his fist from his heart as he cries out, "I'm going to become stronger for her too. I'm going to become so strong that my name will be reached all over the globe. One day, there will not be a single person who doesn't recognize my name. I'm going to become the greatest because I promised her, my Kuina." He felt a heavy lump inconveniently blocking his throat, so he swallows in order for him to continue. "So sensei please, I…" The faucet of tears now strolled down at a rapid pace. He felt so ashamed of showing such a heavy weakness but the waterworks would just not turn off.

Koshiro lifts his head to gaze into Zoro's eyes. His expression quickly switches to a compassionate smile, face no longer being unfathomable. "I entrust my daughter's spirit in your hands and I trust that you will fulfill her dreams as well as yours"

Zoro lowers his head as he respectfully bows to his sensei as well as father, thanking him for his kindness and care for Zoro for all of these years. He receives Wado Ichimonji and he delicately handles it as if he was carrying an infant instead.

The older swordsman beams his way as he passes Zoro a colorful piece of paper, "Here's your plane ticket. Hopefully this trip will help and guide you closer to your goals." Koshiro gives him a few reassuring pats before rushing him out, "Now go or you'll miss the plane." He smiles proudly at Zoro as he would've done to his own son if he had one.

The green haired man expresses his gratitude many more times before pacing out the door, grinning like a fool as he tightly grips Wado thinking, _let's do this together Kuina. _

And he could've almost sworn that Kuina was sitting on the wooden porch, cross-legged, noiselessly urging him on with a wide grin.

But that was all probably part of his outrageous imagination.

* * *

The anxiety was eating him up. His fingernails were clamped shut in between his clattering teeth and he could not help but to chew on them. It was a very bad habit but it somehow assisted in soothing his unnerving self. His stomach has been incredibly unsettling ever since Zoro left his house. He had even more difficulty sleeping and it just caused him to feel terrible, inside and out. Sanji splashed his face with freezing cold water few times in order to fix his appalling appearance but it was no use. The dark shadows underneath his eyes were very apparent and the red that were rimmed around his navy blue iris were more bloodshot than usual. The emotions were completely drained from his face and he appeared sickly pale as if he hadn't been consuming enough nutrients for weeks. It simply wasn't normal for anyone to appear_ that_ chalk-like. Staring at his reflection was beginning to scare himself.

Since the sensation of apprehension wasn't fading away as he expected, he decided to stop by Zoro's home in order to reassure himself. He needed an excuse regarding why he was visiting so he decided to make lunch for the swordsman.

The taste of his sauce was a bit off but it was still better than what anyone else could've done so he shrugged slightly as he enclosed the container, not bothering at all with elaborate decorations beforehand.

The blonde cook blows his snout into a tissue, pollen being the main explanation behind his burgundy nose. He sniffles few more times as he unhurriedly saunters in the direction of the swordsman's home, still feeling the unsettlement at the pit of his stomach.

Yesterday, the night with Zoro felt unexpectedly normal, more relaxed than he had anticipated. Even if he had taken the pleasure in the company of the swordsman and felt completely at ease around him, Sanji still had felt the familiar and nauseating guilt that had no means of leaving him. He had once considered that the origin of his guilt was because he wasn't able to save Kuina from the danger he had placed her in but as those thoughts developed; he came to another conclusion that disturbed him furthermore.

_Sanji watched the swordsman make his way to the black coffin where a familiar lady laid. The rustle of the trees protected Zoro's final words to his lover but from the look on his face, it was clear to the blonde that the verbal word spoken by Zoro pained him undeniably. _

_The swordsman reached for the woman's face and the blonde heard his own heart skip few beats. A sense of envy ran straight across his body like an arrow. The way Zoro looked at her even after her death, an affectionate smile with a touch of warmth mixed in with that pain stricken gaze completely shattered Sanji's heart. He wanted to comfort that man and rid of that miserable appearance. He desired to replace Kuina's place and be there for him._

Shock assorts with shame as he stands in front of Zoro's door, hesitant on whether to knock or not. He fidgets with his feet as he inhales a large amount of air, determination filling his lungs with oxygen. "Oi marimo," he shouts as he knocks rather stridently.

Sanji grunts in dissatisfaction when no one comes to the door, so he knocks few more times.

Memories clog his brain when his eyes glance down at the doorknob. The last time he had rudely barged into the green haired man's home, he had witnessed far too much, _way_ more than necessary. Oblivion was sometimes the key to happiness. By breaking one's bubble of unawareness, it could also pop that person's cheerfulness as well. Thinking back on that specific moment caused the blonde to cringe, so he pulled his hands back.

The door abruptly clicks as it swings open, "Can't sleep with this racket, who in the hell-? "The red haired woman stood by the door while rubbing her eyes, smudging her expertly done makeup. "Sanji?" Nami asks as if she couldn't believe who she was seeing, "Are you here to see Zoro?"

Coming in contact with his childhood friend at Zoro's house was startling enough but when the whole crew came to meet him at the door, he couldn't help but to question the state of affairs. It somewhat hurt to know that his friends had gathered without even bothering notify him but he hastily discarded that thought knowing it was egotistical.

"Ah hello Nami-san, yes, I came to see that damn marimo head. I brought him some lunch but if this is a bad time, I'll go," he suggests.

Nami grabs a hold of his arm as she drags him indoors, "I was wondering where the hell you were Sanji-kun, Zoro's leaving today and you turn in late, I can't believe you! Even though you guys fight a lot I thought there was still friendship between you guys!" She nags him but her words diffuse and become inconceivable to the blonde.

"At least he brought food," The straw hat boy optimistically joins in as he claps his two hands in an eager motion, unmistakably eyeing the bento made for Zoro.

_What? _His mind became vacant, _Zoro's leaving?_ Thousands of questions rolled into his mind. Before he had a chance to ask any, another voice intervened. "Oi oi, I think Zoro is gone, I found this note on the desk."

Sanji hands the rubber boy his food as he rushes indoors, desperate to get a hold of that note. Usopp jumps back a bit when the cook suddenly comes close. "Wow Sanji, I can really have this?" Luffy asks but there really was no point in asking since he had already begun munching on its content.

"Yeah Luffy, you can have it," he murmurs under his breath as his eyes quickly skim the note written by the swordsman, his handwriting unchanged since the last time. Sanji reads the words out loud so the whole crew was able to hear.

_Stay safe and healthy everyone, sorry for leaving so suddenly but I'll be back, don't miss me. In two years, we will meet again. Good luck to you all._

The blue haired man's watery sniffs were heard from behind, he was clearly saddened by a certain man's departure.

Chopper loudly whines, "What? Zoro left? I wanted to say goodbye to him..."

"Shishishi," familiar laughter was heard from a certain boy causing everyone with exception of Sanji to turn his way. "What's the point of goodbyes if we're going to meet him again anyways?" Luffy questions the rest with an extensive grin. Even though many viewed him as a fool, his crew undoubtedly believed the very opposite which was one of the many reasons why they followed his whims without a doubt. Well, most of the times.

The tiny doctor's face lit up after hearing such hopeful words, "You're right Luffy! We _are_ going to see Zoro again!" His lips then curls up in an adorable way that only Chopper could do.

Sanji pays no attention to the group. His eyes were too focused on the bottom of the page. He made sure to read the two lines over and over again inside his head just in case he had missed anything the first ten times he went over it. The words written by the swordsman stirred many emotions altogether, annoyance, confusion, dismay, and possibly delight, partly because Zoro had remembered to include him in his farewell letter.

_P.S. Make sure to tell Sanji that I'm gone because I didn't have the guts to tell him myself_. _Tell him not to wait for me and that I'm sorry._ _Also tell him_ _that he's a little piece of shit but I'll miss him._

The cook urgently calls out to Ace, "Tell me which airport or whatever transportation he's taking! I need to go and see him before its too late!" Impatience grows when no one seems to hear him. Sanji slams his foot against a wall near the freckled faced man in order to grab some attention, almost growling out his next words, "which airport?"

The raven haired brothers turn to one another and then stare at Sanji once more. "It's the one not too far from here, you know, the one past water 7 park, almost right next to Drum hospital," Ace calmly explains to the edgy cook whom took off as soon as he received the information he required.

Nami crosses her arms under her breasts as she clicked her tongue incessantly, "The two of them never learn do they?"

"Nope," Luffy gleefully answers as he takes another bite out of Sanji's bento.

. . .

The blonde pulls a taxi over and hurriedly orders his driver to drive, a sense of time running out pulsing in his veins. He did not know whether the swordsman had already left or whatnot. He didn't even know where Zoro was heading towards. Even with such little information, hope and anticipation fervently fueled him.

He could not risk losing that idiotic green haired man. Their association or companionship had been short but Sanji almost felt as if he had known Zoro his whole entire life. A sense of familiarly always stimulated between every contact they had made. Even at first glance, Sanji felt as if he was somehow meant to talk to him, to meet up with him again at Baratie, become closer to him, argue with him, fight with him, laugh with him, and fall in love with him.

He had always desired to run his hands across every part of the caramel skin of the swordsman, lightly bite his ears until he hears a gasp escaping from such a stoic man, and kiss him until their breath mingles with another. However, he was able to distinguish that their feelings were not mutual.

Sanji had to admit that this addiction was quite strange. When he imagined himself with someone, he always imagined his partner to be just like him except opposite gender. However, not only was the swordsman the same gender, his personality was exact the opposite of Sanji's, rude, no sense manners, grubby, not a single fashion sense, aggravating, yet kind and gentle when he wanted to be, and indefinitely strong willed, not minding anyone's opinions except for his own. He was admirable and maddeningly courageous. Now that Sanji looked back, he had always envied and admired Zoro from afar.

Even though the cook didn't have the guts to take Zeff's advice in competing against many others in many different countries, Zoro was already taking the next step, going somewhere where he could fulfill his ambitions. Sanji wasn't quite sure of what the swordsman had planned in mind but that part was evident. Zoro wasn't someone who would have abandoned his home, family, and friends to do something that was a waste of time. It _had_ to relate to his objective of becoming the world's best swordsman.

Sanji pinches his lips into a pout as he thinks of his next interaction with Zoro, what would he say? How should he react? Why was he even doing this? He indisputably wanted to see the green haired man before he left but for what reason? He had no clear rationalization but his gut was telling him to go and do what he was so afraid to do and if Zoro had taught him one thing, it was to follow your instincts and go with the flow.

His feet taps against the driver's seat restlessly until the taxi pulls over in front of the airport. The ride has been surprisingly short so the cost wasn't too bad. The taxi driver nastily glare his way, possibly from shaking his seat the whole ride but Sanji overlooks the foul look as he flashes him one of his brightest smiles in return.

Sanji takes off into a run into the airport, pushing several people out of the way. The only objective in his eyes were green hair and that caramel skin of his. The blonde swishes his hair back and forth as he frantically searches for the green haired man, only to spot strangers giving him inquiring stares. The blonde feels this emotion of dread prickling his skin, notifying him that this was a useless attempt but Sanji wasn't about to resign and relinquish this task.

He stomps over to the counter and asks if they had seen anyone with green hair pass by. The employee uselessly replies to his question with a frown, informing the blonde that he was unable to reply because they had to protect their customer's privacy or some bullshit like that. Sanji had this undeniable urge to kick the man in the face but he wasn't about to be arrested. Not before seeing Zoro at least.

Trickling sentiment of desperation clung to each minute passing by. He was not able to bypass the securities that were expecting a ticket so the blonde was wedged in between the midway section of this building and the exit.

He spotted many families and friends about to separate. Most were lamenting and promising to call one another every day. He also witnessed parting of some couples. They shared a one final passionate kiss before saying goodbye to one another. Sanji inwardly winced at witnessing such romantic scenes. The way they stared into each other's eyes were enough to say how much one cherished the other. The blonde silently wondered to himself if he would ever find someone who will love him in return but he didn't want this 'someone' to be anyone. He wanted it to be Zoro and that dumb marimo only.

"Kaku, I wish you luck, I'm sure you can win that amateur competition with ease." A man with curly black hair interrupts Sanji's train of thoughts with his baritone voice. He was standing nearby with a strange white pigeon resting on top of his shoulder, waving to another man who had quite the long nose. It was somewhat similar to Usopp's but not simultaneously because of the rectangular shape it owned.

"Thanks, I believe this competition will help me become a better swordsman. Hopefully Mihawk is someone who lives up to his reputation and not some big disappointment who bought his position. I swear, too many frauds are infesting this world nowadays." The long nosed man called Kaku sighs as he shakes his head slightly as if he was disappointed.

Sanji's ears perk up at the stranger's words and listen further onto their conversations.

"Justice will prevail, weaklings will be weeded out and you're definitely not weak so feel free to murder the ones who get in the way," the black haired man frighteningly and cruelly smirks at the idea he had just mentioned as his eyes expand in a psychotic manner.

Kaku harmlessly smiles back as he perkily replies, "Haha will do."

The conversation held by the two men sent a sensation of unease to Sanji. How they talked about murder as if it was an everyday thing was rather startling. He hurriedly backs away from them and look for the green haired man once more.

Even though much time had passed, Sanji couldn't spot Zoro anywhere. He asked variety of people, securities, and the employees again if they had seen a man with green hair but each one of them gave an answer that clarified as a no. The blonde became frustrated beyond belief. Uncertainty was starting to take shape. Sanji didn't want to believe that the swordsman was gone already but what other rationale was there? He practically inspected this whole place and questioned almost every person he came in contact with but Zoro was still nowhere to be found.

His hands obstruct anyone from seeing his eyes as he hopelessly grieves over the loss of a precious friend. At the thought of not seeing the swordsman for the next two years aggrieves him significantly. If only he had chased after Zoro the night before, things would've been different. Things would've been better.

The disconnection from the swordsman in the last past months were difficult to get by. Life before he had met Zoro was fairly straight forwarded and not problematic at all, most of the times. Situations undoubtedly would've been easier and less complicated if he had never came in contact with Zoro but if Sanji was given a second chance to remake his past decisions, he would wind up in the same position he is at presently. As agonizing the circumstance was to him right now, every moment of his past was significant. By having their lives accidentally intertwine with another, Sanji was able to modify his own character and become a better person. Zoro had been a vital branch of his life and the blonde only wished they had more time together.

Sanji glances through the cracks of his fingers and surreptitiously expects the swordsman to be standing there with crossed arms, ogling the blonde with puzzled eyes, curious as to why Sanji was here. Then maybe smirking with satisfaction, leaning over, gazing intently into his blue orbs while whispering how pleased he is to see the cook.

But no one seemed to be standing in front of Sanji. Strangers merely bypassed him as if he is invisible. Not a soul paid any attention to a solitary, lonesome figure in midst of the busy crowd.

The blonde briefly glance to his right because he could feel someone's presence hovering right behind him. He assumes that it is some random stranger, impatient to get past Sanji. He murmurs an apology as he scoots over to one side in order for the figure to sidestep around him without difficulty but when the person didn't budge nor say anything, Sanji turns all of his attention towards the stranger.

The stature and the physique of the person was instantaneously recognizable, notorious smirk playing at the corner of his mouth as the familiar pitch sent thrilling chills down Sanji's back. "Hey cook."

His stomach does extreme flips, excitement and happiness surges through his veins. Sanji gapes at the green haired man before him. Incomprehensible noises escape his mouth as the blonde points his way, almost gurgling with his next words, "Wha-what are you still doing here?" It was evident why Zoro was still here but the blonde asked anyways.

The swordsman scratches the back of his neck, right underneath his hairline, as his lips nip into a small frown, "Thought you were looking for me."

Sanji detected a fairly large bag in Zoro's hand and a long container across his backside that would've deceived most people as a fishing gear. "Why would I look for you out of everyone, you conceited moss?" He found himself saying, unable to stop himself. It apparently was a habit for him to be automatically rude to Zoro.

The frown that was previously casted upon Zoro's face deepens as he scowls at the blonde, "Well fuck you then, I assumed that you wanted to say goodbye or something but guess not shitty brows."

The cook wanted to bash his own head on a nearby wall but his relentless mouth wasn't finished just yet. "Then you shouldn't assume shitty marimo. Where you even going anyways? You look like you're about to go to a war or something." The swordsman in fact did appear rather intimidating and menacing with the black outfit he was wearing. Delinquent was somewhat the accurate depiction of his overall analysis. His frame appeared slightly slimmer and the dim colors brought out a shadowy gleam in his gaze.

Zoro glares irately as he brusquely bashes his own shoulder against the cook's, angrily stomping past Sanji, growling, "None of your fucking business."

The blonde frantically racks his brain for something to say, _anything_. "Have a nice trip," he find himself casting the swordsman away, even waving to him uninterestedly. Sanji silently beat himself up in the interior because he always spoke the wrong words around the swordsman. Why was it so hard for him to be nice to the Zoro for once?

The green haired man throws him a final stern frown before walking away, parting from Sanji without even saying goodbye. After few paces ahead, he stops at a nearby metal detector, next to the securities Sanji couldn't get around previously. The swordsman rests his bag and swords aside and allows the workers to authenticate his , troubles directly arise when a woman in a nice blue pencil skirt gasps. Securities question the swords and Zoro. As expected, he responds composedly and in an unworried manner. Zoro explains his situation and verifies his point by presenting them some sort of a sheet of paper which reassures the airport staffs instantly.

After receiving his rightful objects once more, Zoro commences on walking further and further away from Sanji who has not shifted an inch from a moment before.

_He's leaving… He's not turning back… Don't go, don't leave me… Don't- _"GO!" The blonde yells at the top of his lungs, "DON'T GO ZORO!"

Sanji sprints after the swordsman and shoves many others out of his way. He runs straight across the metal detector, causing it to beep piercingly in alarm. His vision, consisting only of that green haired man, discard others as shadows.

Zoro alarmingly twists to meet the crazed blonde running full speed his way. "What the-"He started to say but becomes abruptly cut off when Sanji's foot meets his chest.

Faint buzz was heard in the background but all the blonde could focus on was the swordsman's groaning face. "Hey," Sanji greets. His legs were securely draped around Zoro's waist and he could almost feel the pulsation of his own chest beating in his ears. He grins down at the squirming man beneath him and tightens his hold around Zoro.

"Curly?" The swordsman asks in a baffled manner, "What the hell are you doing? Get off of me, you shit cook!"

The blonde rolls his eyes as he bends over, leaning closer to Zoro's face. "Make me _ma-ri-mo_," he sings the nickname he had given to the green haired man as he gently closes his eyes, fingers shifting his bangs considerably out of the way as he arches forward.

Hands roughly seize his lean arms and pull Sanji away, resulting in freedom for the swordsman who becomes unbound by Sanji's sturdy legs. "Get the fuck off of me," the blonde snarls then thrashes violently, kicking all the brawny securities away from him.

Zoro is taken by much surprise when Sanji unexpectedly grabs the back of his neck, pulling the two closer until their lips mash against one another, which also results in their teeth clattering, lips bruising, and chins crashing. Even though the initial part of the kiss was rather uncomfortable, it hurriedly turns passionate. Their salvias' fuse, tongues clash for control, and their mouths move against one another's as if it is the kiss of their last breaths. Sanji wraps his arms around the damn marimo's head as he plunges into the groove of their dance, not minding numerous glances and blushes towards his way made by various strangers. It truly didn't matter to the blonde at this very moment because all he could contemplate on was that sweet taste of peppermint mixed with an unusual but not so terrible flavor of iron hopping around his taste buds.

When the two pull away from each other, Zoro absorbedly ogles into the cook's eyes as if he is heavily entranced. Apparent longing and lust remain in his gaze but all becomes stoic once more when the swordsman gains back his control over his facial expressions. "Thought you weren't here for me, stupid cook," Zoro breaths out as he tilts his head ever so slightly, teasing the cook for all he's worth.

"Thought you knew me better than that, stupid moss," The blonde grins back, not backing away from this unspoken challenge. The blonde detects many stares in the direction of him and Zoro. Some appear disapproving of this sappy situation between the two and some appear overjoyed. Many whoops were heard during the moment of their kiss. It seemed to have stirred the crowd incredibly and it somehow confused Sanji. Why was it so major when two males share a kiss but not so much when straight couples do? He somehow knew the answer to his own question but it disturbed him exceptionally.

A clearing of someone's throat was evidently noted but the two didn't bother to give that person the attention he or she preferred.

"Flight to Japan is leaving in five minutes, for those who had not aboard the plane yet, please do so immediately." The announcement warns loudly, booming over everybody's heads.

The swordsman turns to Sanji and cups his chin, brushing over his tiny goatee. "I have to go now. I know it's unfair of me to ask you to wait another two years but… You better curly brow." He pauses for a moment before hesitantly speaking again, "The answer you want from me, I'm not ready to give it to you yet, but after these two years, I'll definitely come back and tell you what you want to hear as many times as you want." His face holds heavy amount of determination and these ignites of sparks were almost seen inside his eyes.

Sanji feels somewhat glad to hear that, an assuring agreement that they will meet again. He raises his visible eyebrow towards Zoro, "As many times as I want?"

The swordsman nods and says, "Don't make me repeat shitty blows"

The blonde grins from ear to ear as he pushes the green haired man with the palm of his hand, encouraging him to go on before he misses the plane. "Better fucking come back as the greatest swordsman Zoro."

"Of fucking course," Zoro guarantees before running at top speed for his plane.

Sanji watches the figure of his 'somewhat relationship buddy, lover, or friends with benefits 'disappear into hordes of strangers as he instantly senses nostalgia. The blonde finally obtained the 'love of his life,' one could say, but they had to separate from the other almost instantly. It was somewhat saddening and tragic but Sanji still felt content and satisfied that this trip had not been a waste of time after all. And somehow, this separation seemed somewhat romantic even. It was as if Sanji was suddenly placed inside a story someone else had made up.

He chuckles at the thought, _as if_.

"Sir, please come with us," Another set of securities demands, reaching for Sanji's skinny arms just like the previous ones, except they didn't receive brutal kicks to their stomachs. The blonde merely permits these men to drag him away.

"Alright you shitty bastards, I'm coming, I'm coming," he grumbles under his breath, silently pondering over his next move for the next two years.

**AN**: Finally! I'm so happy, hopefully you are too. I finished and romance is finally here! Hopefully, I didn't go too fast with this because I was evading that development.

Please be kind enough to leave me a review, good ones and bad ones, I will respond to them all! (Unless you are anonymous)


End file.
